If you are familiar with Greek food, you most probably have tasted these divine festive Greek treats called kourabiedes (κουραμπιέδες). They are addictive crunchy shortbread cookies with wonderful almond and buttery flavours and are very popular in Greece. They are a wonderful accompaniment to your afternoon cup of tea or coffee.

HISTORY OF THE FESTIVE GREEK KOURABIEDES.

In Greece and other parts of the Balkans, these almond butter cookies are made at times of festivities, but they can be enjoyed anytime as they are so yummy.

Many believe that the original recipe for kourabiedes comes from Persia. Shortbread cookies, similar to the Greek kourabiedes, exist in many Arabic cuisines. In most Arab countries, they are known as Khushkanānaj Gharib (exotic cookie), and a recorded recipe for them can be found in the earliest known Arabic cookbook from the 10th century, Kitab al-Ṭabīḫ. 

The Arabic butter cookies were introduced in Ottoman cuisine in the 15th century. Through the Ottomans, they became popular in the Balkans and even today they are a much-loved delicacy in the region, especially in the Southern parts of the Peninsula where almond trees grow in abundance.

The Greek name for these shortbread cookies kourabiedes comes from the Turkish word kurabiye, which means crunchy biscuit.

It’s rather amusing that the name for these crunchy cookies is used in several Greek colloquialisms. In Greek, the word κουραμπιέ (kourabie) can refer to a lazy and slow-minded person, and the slang word, κουραμπιεδόμαγκας  (kourabiedománkas) is used to describe a person who pretends to be strong and clever, but when it comes down to action shows cowardliness.

HOW TO MAKE FESTIVE GREEK KOURABIEDES COOKIES?

📋 INGREDIENTS IN the Greek Kourabiedes

Although nowadays the most popular Greek version of these biscuits is made with plain soft flour, they can also be prepared with almond flour. By substituting the sugar with a sugar alternative, these delicious shortbread cookies can be transformed into a perfect Keto treat.

To make kourabiedes use unsalted butter and mild olive oil, or replace the olive oil with sunflower oil.

This recipe calls for icing sugar, which makes the texture of the cookies less crumbly because icing sugar normally contains cornstarch. You can replace the icing sugar with regular sugar.

Adding alcohol (ouzo or brandy) to the dough will improve the taste of the cookies. Alcohol bonds with fat and water molecules and helps to carry aromas and flavours in food. For a more authentic Greek taste, I prefer to use ouzo.

I highly recommend that you source rose water and sprinkle it over the baked kourabiedes. Rose water adds wonderful floral aromas to the cookies.

📖 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Gather the ingredients for the Kourabiedes

Leave the butter at room temperature for about an hour to soften, then mash it with a fork.

Sieve the flour to make it airier and remove lumps of flour.

Step 2: Make the dough for the Kourabiedes cookies

Pour the oil into the soft butter and whisk with the mixer until thou have a homogeneous creamy mixture. Then, add the vanilla and baking soda to the mixture and whisk to integrate them.

Pour a little water and a shot of ouzo and add the sugar to the butter mixture. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Icing sugar integrates very easily and quickly into the butter mixture and adds more texture. If you are using regular sugar, you can check if the sugar is dissolved by rubbing a pinch of the mixture between your fingers.

When the sugar is integrated and the texture is smooth and you no longer feel the sugar grains, start adding small portions of flour. Stir continuously with a bread whisk or whisk it with your mixer and add splashes of flour gradually until you have a thin dough formed.

Change the mixer attachment with the kneading tool and start kneading the dough.

Keep on adding splashes of flour and kneading the dough until you have a soft dough. You may not need to use all flour stated in the recipe. That will depend on the flour, the humidity in the room and other factors.

Do not remove the skins from the almonds. They add to the flavour.

Wet the almonds, then roast them on medium heat in the oven or on a griddle pan for about 10 minutes. Stir them frequently. I prefer to use a griddle pan because it’s easier to see what’s going on and when I need to stir the nuts. If you see they are getting darker, make sure to stir them. Be careful not to burn them.

Leave the roasted almonds to cool completely before chopping them into smallish pieces. They should not be cut too finely because you need to feel the almond crunch in the cookies.

Add the almond crunch to the dough and knead until distributed evenly.

Place the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes to get stiffer. 

Step 3: Shape the Greek Kourabiedes cookies

How to shape the kourabiedes?

There are two popular methods of forming kourabiedes, in the shape of balls or half-moons.

To make cookie balls: Take 30-35 grams / 1-1.2oz pieces of dough. Roll the dough into small balls between your palms and press them on top with your thumb.

To make half-moon cookies: Roll the dough to 2 cm thickness. Use a mini cake tin, around 5-6 cm in diameter, and first cut circles in the flat dough, then make half-moons with the cake tin. You can also use a round glass of the same dimensions.

Step 3: Bake the cookies

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F. For fan ovens, reduce the temperature to 170°C/ 338°F.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and arrange the dough shapes on top, about 2 fingers apart, because they will expand. Bake them for 20 minutes.

Be careful not to burn the cookies. Perfectly cooked cookies will have a pale golden tint.

Carefully place the shortbread cookies on a cooling grid. Be careful, if they are still hot, they can crumble due to the high content of butter in them. When they are cool, kourabiedes become more solid.

Step 4: Decorate the Kourabiedes cookies

Decorate the kourabiedes with icing sugar

You can drizzle rose water over the baked cookies while they are still hot, to add a slight floral scent. Then let the kourabiedes cool completely and sieve icing sugar over them.

Decorate the kourabiedes with chocolate & nuts

Melt around 400g/14oz of dark chocolate in the microwave, stir in one tablespoon of coconut butter or olive oil and dip your kourabiedes in the glaze.

Roll or dip the cookies into ground pistachio nuts while the chocolate is still hot for the nut crumbs to stick better.

HOW TO STORE KOURABIEDES?

Keep the shortbread cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature and they will remain fresh for a couple of weeks.

Enjoy! 👨‍🍳👨‍🍳👨‍🍳