Have a delicious snack-filled Christmas with these festive sweet butter cookies! If you haven’t tried ‘Kourabiedes’ (Greek Christmas Butter Cookies) before, then you are certainly missing out! Deliciously buttery with a crunchy bite and rich almond (or pistachio if you are feeling adventurous) and butter flavour.
🕒 Prep Time: 15 Minutes
⏳ Cook Time: 15 Minutes
🍪 Makes 25 cookies
Ingredients
- 250g butter (unsalted)
- 150g almonds, roughly chopped or almond slivers, roasted (6 ounces, 1 1/4 cups)
- 50g almonds (whole) or almond slivers, raw (1/4 cup)
- 75g icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 400g all-purpose (plain) flour (3 1/5 cups)
- Lots of icing sugar for powdering
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 200C / 390F. To prepare this ‘Kourabiedes’ recipe start by roasting the almonds. Place the roughly chopped almonds (150g/ 6 ounces) or almond slivers on a baking tray and sprinkle with some water. Bake them for 7-8 minutes, until roasted, being careful not to burn them. Set aside or put in the fridge to cool.
In a blender, add the raw almonds (50g/ 1.8 ounces) or the pistachios and blend, until powdered. Set aside.
In a food processor, add the cold butter and sugar; mix for about 10 seconds, until the butter ‘breaks’ and is completely dissolved. Add the powdered almonds, a pinch of salt, the rosewater and the vanilla extract; mix for 10-20 seconds, until combined. At the end, add the baking powder and flour and mix again for 10-15 seconds.
Place the mixture in a large bowl and add the roasted almonds; blend lightly with your hands. For the Kourabiedes to remain fluffy, it is important that the butter doesn’t warm up and melt. So wait for a while for the roasted almonds to cool, before adding them to the butter mixture.
Preheat the oven to 170C / 340F. Layer the bottom of 2 baking trays with parchment paper and form the Kourabiedes.
Roll 1 tbsp (about 30g) of the dough into a ball, place on the baking tray and push with your finger in the middle, to form a little dimple. Continue with the rest of the dough. Place in the fridge for 5 minutes until you prepare your next tray.
Place the baking trays with the Kourabiedes in second and fourth rack of the oven. Bake for approx. 15-20 minutes, until they have a very faint golden tint and are cooked through. Be careful not to overbake them.
Leave the Kourabiedes aside to cool down for a while. If you try to lift them, while still warm, they will break!
Spray the Kourabiedes with water (can be orange-infused) and sift with icing sugar. Enjoy!
