Kourabiedes Recipe
I see this Kourabiedes Recipe being posted for Christmas. However, I see these Kourabiedes cookies in the Greek stores all year through so I am thinking it’s ok to make them any time of year.
No disrespect to the Greek community but I love these cookies so much I could eat them all year through. And now that I have discovered how to make them “properly” this recipe is a keeper.
Kourabiedes Recipe
These are my absolute favorite cookies and I can’t get enough of them. One day a lady made them for a friend and it was super delicious.
But she never wanted to share the recipe. Although a few weeks before I could ask for her recipe, she asked for one of my recipes and I very willingly shared it with her.
Ever since her refusal I tried to make them but it just didn’t taste like the ones she made.
Well I finally found a few recipes on google, and I made this one almost exactly like the one from Baked Ambrosia. All of the recipes are very similar.
I had to tweak just a couple of things and it turned out perfect. Omg, I was in heaven.
Kourabiedes is a shortbread like cookie, usually in a crescent shape or round. They are baked until slightly brown and dusted with icing sugar whilst still hot.
If you ever noticed the sugar sticking to the cookies, that’s because it was dusted with sugar whilst hot.
The recipe also called for orange blossom water. I didn’t have any so I didn’t add that and it was still delicious.
Some recipes mention that rose water can be used as a replacement. I didn’t have any of that either.
If you have some you can use it in the recipe. Baking powder in cookies just doesn’t appeal to me because of the strong aluminium taste.
Yes, I know I need to get some aluminium free baking powder. Anyway, I don’t think it was bad without the baking powder.
To be honest I didn’t even notice the difference. Although the recipe does say adding it makes the cookies lighter.
You can add it if you wish. It’s a teaspoon of baking powder that I left out.
Ingredients Required for this Recipe
Butter ( I always use salted), Cake flour or all purpose flour, icing sugar or powdered sugar, vanilla essence, brandy, almonds
Omg, these cookies tasted just like the authentic greek cookies I love so much. I am obsessed with them.
To be honest I have given most of them away to my friends and family. I am definitely making myself another batch and I am not sharing.
Please do yourself a favour and try these. If you leave out the egg and brandy I can’t guarantee you it will taste the same but you can take a chance and try.
More Recipes to try:
Kourabiedes Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 gram butter salted
- 3/4 cup icing sugar See note 1
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 tablespoon brandy See note 2
- 5&1/2 cups cake flour See note 3
- 1 cup flaked almonds lightly roasted
- 2 cups icing sugar for dusting the cookies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 170 degrees celsius
- Line two large baking pans with baking paper and set aside
- Beat the room temperature butter and icing sugar in a stand mixer or a hand mixer, for approximately 10 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy
- Add the egg yolk and mix. Add the vanilla essence and brandy
- Roast the almonds on the stove top until slightly brown, crush it a little with your hands and add to the mixture
- Add the flour, a little at a time, until a soft and pliable dough is formed. Dough should be soft but not sticky. You may not require all of the flour
- Use a small ice-cream scoop to scoop the dough. Make round balls and flatten a little. Make a little indent in the center of each cookie
- You can also make a round ball and roll the dough in the palms of your hand to form an elongated shape. Bend it a little to form a crescent shape
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden brown on the edges
- Remove from the oven and whilst still hot place the cookies in a bowl of icing sugar and coat the cookies with the sugar
- Place in an airtight container and cover cookies with more icing sugar
Notes
- Icing sugar is the same as powdered sugar
- The brandy does add a nice flavour to the cookies so it is recommended, however, if you cannot use alcohol you can leave it out
- Add the flour, a little at a time, as you may not need all of the flour. Remember the moisture content in the flour differs as per the weather and therefore the measurement is just a guide
- I always use salted butter in my recipes and I just don't add anymore salt. If you are using unsalted butter you will need to add a bit of salt
Just made these Greek Almond biscuits..they are absolutely delicious, not to mention addictive! Thank you for sharing your recipe with valuable tips as well. 😋
Thats wonderful to hear. One of my favourites too. Glad you enjoyed them:-)