Dessert
Kourabiedes (Greek Butter Almond Cookies)
- Total timeTotal
- 1 hr 30′
- MakesMakes
- 60–80 cookies
Kourabiedes sit next to melomakarona on every Greek Christmas cookie plate: buttery, crumbly cookies with roasted almonds, buried in powdered sugar. This recipe for my grandmother's traditional kourabiedes is my favorite.
Kourabiedes sit next to melomakarona on every Greek Christmas cookie plate: buttery, crumbly cookies with roasted almonds, buried in powdered sugar. This recipe for my grandmother's traditional kourabiedes is my favorite. They are the fluffiest kourabiedes I have ever tried, and she taught me all her secrets, which I share in the recipe below.
Step by step
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The recipe
Kourabiedes Recipe
Total time 1 hr 30′ · 60–80 cookies
Ingredients
For the kourabiedes
For coating
Method
Kourabiedes: the dough
- Start by roasting the almonds, so they have time to cool before they go into the kourabiedes.
- Spread the almonds on a large baking sheet and roast at 160°C for 15–20 minutes. Make sure they don’t take on too much color.
- Once cool, crack the almonds between two sheets of parchment paper with a rolling pin or in a mortar, or chop them roughly.
- Beat the cold butter with the powdered sugar in the stand mixer until it turns white, for at least 10–15 minutes. The longer you beat it, the fluffier the kourabiedes.
- Add the egg yolks one at a time, still beating. Then add the cognac and beat a little more.
- Sift the flour with the vanillin and the baking powder.
- Switch the whisk for the dough hook, if you have one, and lower the speed. Add the flour mixture gradually, in small batches, and mix on low speed until you have an even dough. If the dough is too soft or sticky, add another 50 g of flour.
- Finally, add the cracked almonds and mix gently.
- TipIf you beat the dough too long, it can warm up and soften. In that case, cover it and chill it for 30 minutes.
Kourabiedes: baking
- Shape the kourabiedes into balls the size of a small walnut, or the size you like, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 160°C convection (fan) for about 20 minutes, or at 190°C conventional for 20–25 minutes, until lightly golden.
- Take the kourabiedes out of the oven and carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
- Repeat with the rest of the kourabiedes.
- Empty the 800 g of powdered sugar into a large dish.
- Once the kourabiedes are completely cool, sprinkle them with a little rose water and roll them in the powdered sugar. Turn them 2–3 times so they are well coated, and arrange them on a platter.
- TipIf you’d rather not use rose water, you can coat them in powdered sugar directly.
- Dust a little powdered sugar between each layer so they don’t stick together.
- Always keep the kourabiedes well covered so they don’t absorb moisture.
