Kourabiedes Greek Christmas Butter Cookies Recipes

KOURABIEDES: GREEK CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees F (180 Celsius)
• In a large bowl whip the butter until white and fluffy. Add the ½ cup powdered sugar gradually. Continue mixing and add the egg yolk and the cognac or ouzo. In another bowl sift flour and mix well with the baking powder, add the chopped almonds. Add the flour mixture to the butter and mix. Knead for a few minutes and if needed add a bit more flour. This dough will be a bit sticky. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove from the refrigerator and make small round shapes about the size of a walnut and flatten a bit with your fingers. Another common shape is the crescent. My 3-year-old son also made some in the shape of a star using a cookie cutter.
• Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. Be careful not to over bake otherwise these cookies will be hard instead of having a melt-in-your-mouth quality.
• Once you remove them from the oven sprinkle with some rose water or substitute.
• Fill shallow bowl with the rest of the powdered sugar (4 cups), dip each kourabie in the sugar mixture making sure they are well covered with sugar, place on a large platter. Once you have 1 layer of kourabiedes on the platter, sift powdered sugar over the kourabiedes, continue the same process with the next layer, layering until you have small pyramid.

KOURABIEDES (GREEK BUTTER COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar until blended. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and baking powder; gradually stir into butter mixture until blended (mixture will be crumbly). , Shape heaping tablespoons of dough into crescents. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool 15 minutes., Place remaining sugar in a small bowl. Toss slightly cooled cookies in sugar; return cookies to wire rack to cool completely. , Toss cookies in sugar once more before serving. Store in an airtight container, adding any remaining confectioners' sugar to cover cookies.

GREEK BUTTER COOKIES (KOURABIEDES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift together flour, almonds, confectioners' sugar, and salt into a medium bowl.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and honey on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and lemon zest. (It may not come together fully until you add flour mixture.) Reduce speed to low; gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with mastiha.
• Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough; roll into a ball. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until brown around edges, about 20 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool completely. Roll cookies in confectioners' sugar until thoroughly coated. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.