Greek Butter Cookies Kourambiedes Recipes

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.

GREEK BUTTER COOKIES (KOURAMBIEDES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer, whip the butter until creamy. Add the egg, vanilla extract, baking powder, sugar and nuts. Mix thoroughly.
• Add the flour until the dough becomes too stiff to beat with a mixer. By hand, add flour and knead until dough is smooth and rolls off your fingers without sticking.
• Roll the dough out by hand into a cylinder roughly one inch in diameter and eight inches long. Cut diagonally into one-and-a-half-inch pieces. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. Let the cookies cool and sprinkle them generously with confectioners' sugar.

GREEK BUTTER COOKIES (KOURABIEDES)

Steps:

• Cream butter until light and fluffy, it starts looking whitish. Mix in the 1/4 C powdered sugar and egg yolks, creaming well. Add brandy, mix in almonds.
• Sift flour, measure and sift again with baking powder. Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing until smooth.
• Use a teaspoon to pinch off pieces of dough the size of a walnut and shape into crescents or flatten into rounds. I roll them in my hand. Place on a ungreased baking pan. Place one whole clove in the center of each round. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes or until very lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 5 minutes.
• Sift a 1/8 inch thick layer of powdered sugar over waxed paper and transfer cookies to it. Sift more sugar over the top to cover. Let stand until cool, then store in a tin. They are much much better if you can stand to wait a few days before eating them, but I never can.

KOURABIETHES - GREEK BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter and 1 cup sugar until very light and fluffy. stir in egg yolk and brandy. Mix sifted flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Mix in the flour and baking powder a little at a time until dough no longer sticks to your fingers. If you are adding the almonds, chop them up into fine pieces. Mix them in while mixing in flour, accomodating for the extra ingredient and not letting the cookies get too dry. Knead well until dough is smooth and can easily be rolled into balls. Take small pieces of dough and shape into balls or small crescents. Place on parchment paper on a baking sheet or on a lightly greased sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until very light brown. While still warm, brush very lightly with orange flower or rose water. Roll in confectioner's sugar and set on a tray or plate. Use the remaining sugar to sift over top until well covered.