Kourabiedes (Greek Butter Cookies)
Melt-in-the-mouth, delicious Greek butter cookies. These amazing little snowballs are filled with almonds and dust with powdered sugar. The perfect addition to your Christmas table and cookie list.
Ingredients
- 250 g/1 cup clarified unsalted butter or ghee room temperature
- 32 g/4 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cognac or brandy
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g/1⅖ cups unsalted roasted almonds
- 400 g/2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 200 g/1½ cups powdered sugar to dust
- 1 teaspoon rose water
Instructions
- Place the almonds into a food processor and pulse 3 to 4 times until they become medium-small pieces.
- In the mixer bowl, add the butter and beat it with the paddle attachment, until white and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar and continue with the beating until combined.
- Pour the vanilla, egg yolk, and cognac into the mixture and continue beating until mixed.
- Add the chopped almonds to the mixture and beat until combined.
- In a medium bowl, sieve the flour with the baking powder and baking soda.
- Add the flour in batches into the mixture. The mixture should be soft enough but not sticky.
- Shape the dough into balls about 30g (1oz) each and press slightly down to the center.
- Place the kourabiedes into the fridge, which helps to keep them fluffy.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Place the kourabiedes on the tray, making sure that they have some space apart to spread, about 1 cm (0.4 inches), and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven. Let them cool into the tray for 5 minutes, spray them with the rose water, and then roll them into sieved icing sugar.
- Using your fingers, transfer them carefully on a cooling wire rack.
- Arrange them as a tower on a platter, when cooled, and dust with more powdered sugar.
- Enjoy :)
Notes
Kourabiedes are very crumbly and soft when they are hot so try to lift them as carefully as possible to avoid breaking them.
Be careful not to overcook the cookies, they can become bitter. Bake them until they have a light golden tint.
Use good quality clarified butter, because it is the key ingredient to get a great flavor.
For fluffy kourabiedes it is essential that the mixture is cold so that it doesn’t spread. Be sure to place the cookies into the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes before baking.
Beat the butter for 10 minutes. It is ready when it turns from pale yellow to white and this process is what makes the cookies so tender.
Gluten-free option: Replace the flour with 1 to 1 cup gluten-free baking (all-purpose) flour.
Store the kourabiedes in an airtight container or cover them with plastic wrap, after they cool completely, at room temperature. They can last up to 6 weeks.
Freeze them in an airtight container, after they cool completely and without the addition of powdered sugar, for up to six months. Coat them with icing sugar after they thaw or just before serving.