I have this super easy Christmas cookie recipe for you today. They can be prepared in 15 minutes, and you can be popping them into your mouth in less than 40 minutes! These Greek butter cookies, called Kourabiedes, are some of my favorite treat from the holidays growing up as a child.

The smell of butter and almonds always fills the house, and it smells exactly like Christmas! Roll your Greek butter cookies in some powdered sugar before eating, and you’ll love the tenderness and the yummy flavors.

I’ve added the American weights for the ingredients, so you don’t have to worry about grams in this traditional Greek recipe!

 

Ingredients:

250g butter made from cows milk, cold (9 ounces)

150g almonds, roughly chopped or almond slivers, roasted (6 ounces)

50g almonds (whole) or almond slivers, raw (1.8 ounces). Alternatively you can also give pistachios a try

75g icing sugar (2.7 ounces)

1 tbsp rose water

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

300g all-purpose flour (10.6 ounces)

lots of icing sugar for powdering

 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 200C. To prepare this kourabiedes (kourabiethes) recipe start by roasting the almonds. Place the roughly chopped almonds (150g/ 6 ounces) or almond silvers 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 and wear plastic gloves, when blending with your hands, so that the temperature of your hands doesn’t warm up the butter.

Preheat the oven to 200C; layer the bottom of 2 baking trays with parchment paper and form the kourabiedes. Roll 1 tbsp 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 the baking trays with the kourabiedes in second and fourth rack of the oven and turn the heat down to 180C. Bake for approx. 18-20 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 rosewater and sift with icing sugar. Enjoy!

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Quick Tip: Rose water can be found at grocery stores with a baking aisle or an aisle with Indian cuisine!

Recipe and image courtesy of: My Greek Dish