Kourabiedes, also known as Greek butter cookies, are a delightful pastry enjoyed by individuals of all walks of life. Often prepared during the festive season, these cookies are a staple in many households, embodying the warmth and joy of the holidays. Their unique flavor and texture, characterized by a delicate butteriness and a dusting of powdered sugar, have captivated the hearts of many, making them a beloved treat that transcends borders and generations.
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KOURABIEDES (GREEK BUTTER COOKIES)
I had to bake something from my heritage for school. So, I made this heavenly kourabiedes recipe. -Rebecca Sprague, St. Louis, Missouri
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 1h
Yield about 5 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar until blended. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and baking powder; gradually stir into butter mixture until blended (mixture will be crumbly). , Shape heaping tablespoons of dough into crescents. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool 15 minutes., Place remaining sugar in a small bowl. Toss slightly cooled cookies in sugar; return cookies to wire rack to cool completely. , Toss cookies in sugar once more before serving. Store in an airtight container, adding any remaining confectioners' sugar to cover cookies.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 128 calories, Fat 6g fat (4g saturated fat), Cholesterol 19mg cholesterol, Sodium 3mg sodium, Carbohydrate 17g carbohydrate (7g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 1g protein.
GREEK BUTTER COOKIES (KOURABIEDES)
These cookies will practically melt in your mouth. Most people make them in a crescent shape, but I like to make mine round. It makes the cookie a little smaller, thus less calories.
Provided by Greekgal
Categories Dessert
Time 1h20m
Yield 55 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 8
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.
KOURABIEDES (GREECE): WALNUT SUGAR COOKIES
These are a Greek celebration cookie - while they're most popular at Christmas, you also see them at weddings, Easter and other holidays as well. They're almost always served with a powdered sugar topping; at Christmas, it's traditional to stick a whole clove in the top to represent the gift of spices that the Three Wise Men brought to Bethlehem.
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories dessert
Time 1h50m
Yield about 2 dozen cookies
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Toast the walnuts until golden brown and fragrant, about 6 minutes. Let cool, then chop about half of the nuts (you should have about 1/2 cup chopped). Pulse the remaining nuts in the food processor until finely ground (about 1/4 cup ground).
- Stir the flour, baking powder, salt and nuts together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, beat the butter, sugar, egg yolk, brandy and vanilla extract together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture gets light and fluffy, about 10 minutes.
- At low speed, stir in the nut mixture to make a crumbly dough. Cover the bowl and set dough aside at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or coat with nonstick spray.
- With a tablespoon, scoop out 1-inch pieces of dough and roll into balls between the palms of your hands. Pinch the ends of the balls to make a football shape. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies set and start to brown, about 18 minutes.
- Remove cookies from the oven and immediately sprinkle them lightly with the orange water. (If you don't have a brush, simply dip your fingers into the water and flick it over the cookies a few times.) Take care not to douse them, just enough for them to carry the scent of flowers.
- Put the confectioners' sugar in a bag, and add 5 to 6 of the warm cookies to it. Very gently toss the cookies to coat with sugar. Remove them from the bag and cool cookies on a rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. Serve.
- Busy baker's tips: Dough can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Baked cookies can be wrapped in plastic, then aluminum foil, for up to 2 weeks. To serve, let cookies come to room temperature before dusting with confectioners' sugar.
- Cook's Note: If you can't find orange flower water, try specialty stores or online.
- Copyright (c) 2007 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved
KOURABIETHES - GREEK BUTTER COOKIES
A recipe I found on Whippedtheblog.com. Here is what is stated about the cookies: "These Greek little balls of heaven are a Christmas special. My husband who is half Greek makes them every year. In the bakeries of Greece, the Kourabiethes are piled up high and deep and look like a mound of little snowballs. My trusty, old-school Greek cookbook reads, "Kourabiethes are the national cookies of the Greeks for Christmas and New Year's Day."
Provided by diner524
Categories Dessert
Time 30m
Yield 30-40 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 8
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.
GREEK BUTTER COOKIES (KOURABIEDES)
Traditionally baked for Christmas and Easter festivities, these buttery shortbread cookies call for a trio of classic Greek ingredients: almonds, honey, and a special liqueur made from the resin of the mastic tree.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes
Yield Makes about 45
Number Of Ingredients 9
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.
KOURAMBIETHES
My daughter-in-law gave me this recipe. Her grandmother was born in Greece and bakes these cookies for special occasions, including Christmas.-Carol Dale, Greenville, Texas
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 55m
Yield 5 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Place almonds in an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° until lightly browned, 5-10 minutes, stirring several times. When cool, process in a food processor until finely chopped; set aside. , In a large bowl, cream butter and 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, whiskey or juice and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and reserved almonds; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Shape tablespoonfuls of dough into 3-in. logs. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; shape into crescents. Bake at 350° until set and bottoms are lightly browned, 14-18 minutes. , Carefully roll warm cookies in remaining confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks. Sprinkle with additional confectioners' sugar.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 128 calories, Fat 7g fat (4g saturated fat), Cholesterol 19mg cholesterol, Sodium 51mg sodium, Carbohydrate 13g carbohydrate (5g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 2g protein.
GREEK BUTTER COOKIES (KOURAMBIEDES)
Provided by Moira Hodgson
Categories dessert
Time 50m
Yield About 60 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 8
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.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 85, UnsaturatedFat 2 grams, Carbohydrate 6 grams, Fat 6 grams, Fiber 0 grams, Protein 1 gram, SaturatedFat 4 grams, Sodium 14 milligrams, Sugar 0 grams, TransFat 0 grams
Tips:
- Soften your butter to room temperature: This will make it easier to cream together with the sugar and help the cookies achieve a light and fluffy texture.
- Don't overmix the dough: Overmixing can make the cookies tough. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.
- Chill the dough before baking: This will help the cookies hold their shape and prevent them from spreading too much.
- Bake the cookies at the right temperature: The ideal temperature for baking kourabiethes is 350°F (175°C). This will help them achieve a golden brown color and a crispy texture.
- Let the cookies cool completely before storing them: This will help them retain their shape and flavor.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container: This will help them stay fresh for up to 2 weeks.
Conclusion:
Kourabiethes are a delicious and festive Greek cookie that are perfect for any occasion. With their buttery flavor, crispy texture, and delicate dusting of powdered sugar, they are sure to be a hit with everyone who tries them. So next time you're looking for a special treat, give kourabiethes a try. You won't be disappointed!
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