Greek Food Christmas

Kourabiedes: Greek Butter Almond Christmas Cookies Recipe

Name: Kourabiedes
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 87 min
Ingredients: 250 g unsalted butter (soft, at room temperature); 80 g icing sugar; 1 egg yolk; 1 tbsp brandy (or ouzo); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 150 g blanched almonds; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 400 g plain flour (plus a little more if needed); 1 pinch fine sea salt; 2 tbsp rose water (or orange blossom water, optional); 300 g icing sugar (for coating)

Melt-in-the-mouth Greek butter cookies with toasted almonds and brandy, buried in a snowy layer of icing sugar.

Serves

35 pieces

Calories

145 kcal

Cuisine

Greek

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Greek kourabiedes butter almond cookies covered in icing sugar on a white plate

On this page: What is it · History · What you need · Step by step · Serving & storage · Recipe card

Kourabiedes are Greek butter cookies, short and crumbly, full of toasted almonds and buried under so much icing sugar that you cannot eat one without a white dusting on your clothes.

Together with melomakarona they are the Greek Christmas cookie, and this Tone & Taste recipe makes about 35. If you bake both, make the honey cookies first and these straight after, while the oven is still hot.

The secret is time. Beat the butter for longer than feels necessary, until it is almost white, and the cookies turn out light instead of heavy.

What Is It?

Kourabiedes (κουραμπιέδες) are made from butter beaten until pale and fluffy, a little icing sugar, an egg yolk, brandy and flour, with chopped toasted almonds folded through.

They are shaped into small balls or crescents, baked until just firm and still pale, then sprinkled with rose water and rolled in icing sugar while warm, so the sugar sticks in a thick snowy coat.

The texture is the point: they should crumble the moment you bite and melt on the tongue, without being dry.

A Little History

Christmas tin filled with kourabiedes in icing sugar and a few melomakarona

Shortbread-style cookies with nuts and powdered sugar are made all over the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. The Greek name is related to the Turkish kurabiye, a word used for many kinds of butter cookie.

In Greece, kourabiedes became the white partner of the dark, honey-soaked melomakarona. Their snowy look made them a Christmas cookie, and in many regions they are also made for weddings, baptisms and Easter.

Some families add a whole clove to each cookie, others use ouzo instead of brandy or orange blossom water instead of rose water. The butter and the almonds stay the same everywhere.

At a glance

Serves

35 pieces

Calories

145 kcal

Protein

2 g

Course

Christmas cookie

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Why it works

01 Long-beaten butter for a light, crumbly bite

02 Toasted almonds for crunch and flavour

03 Sugared warm, then again cold, for a thick snowy coat

Stack of kourabiedes buried in icing sugar with toasted almonds and rose water

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What You Need

Exact amounts are in the recipe card

For the Cookies

unsalted butter, soft, at room temperature
icing sugar
egg yolk
brandy, or ouzo
vanilla extract
blanched almonds
baking powder
plain flour, plus a little more if needed
fine sea salt

To Finish

rose water, or orange blossom water, optional
icing sugar, for coating

Ingredients for kourabiedes: butter, icing sugar, egg yolk, brandy, vanilla, almonds, flour and rose water

Step-by-Step Instructions

Toast the almonds, beat the butter for a long time, mix gently, then bake pale and coat the cookies twice in icing sugar.

Toasted blanched almonds on a tray and chopped on a board for kourabiedes

1. Toast the almonds

Heat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). Spread the almonds on a tray and toast for 8 to 10 minutes until light golden and fragrant. Leave to cool, then chop coarsely. Lower the oven to 170 °C (150 °C fan).

Tip: Chop them by hand or pulse briefly in a processor. You want small pieces, not almond flour.

Butter beaten pale and fluffy in a stand mixer for kourabiedes

2. Beat the butter

Beat the soft butter with a stand mixer or electric mixer for 8 to 10 minutes until very pale, almost white, and fluffy.

Tip: This long beating is what makes kourabiedes light. Do not cut it short.

Sifting icing sugar into whipped butter for kourabiedes

3. Add sugar, yolk and brandy

Sift in the 80 g of icing sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk, brandy and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Soft kourabiedes dough with chopped toasted almonds in a mixing bowl

4. Fold in the flour and almonds

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add them to the butter in two or three batches, mixing on low speed or by hand only until combined. Fold in the almonds. The dough should be soft but not sticky; add a spoon of flour if it sticks to your hands.

Pale baked kourabiedes balls and crescents on a lined baking tray

5. Shape and bake

Roll pieces of about 25 g into balls or small crescents and place them on lined trays. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until firm and only just golden underneath. The tops should stay pale.

6. Coat in icing sugar

Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then sprinkle lightly with rose water. Sift a thick layer of icing sugar onto a tray, set the warm cookies on it and sift more over the top until covered. When completely cold, roll them once more in icing sugar.

Tip: Handle them gently while warm, as they are very fragile until they cool.

Serving & Storage

Serving

Serve kourabiedes piled high on a plate with a final dusting of icing sugar, with Greek coffee or tea. Put out napkins: the sugar goes everywhere.

They make a good homemade gift, layered in a tin with baking paper and a few melomakarona alongside.

Storing Leftovers

Keep them in an airtight tin at room temperature, in their icing sugar. Add a little fresh sugar before serving if the coat has soaked in.

Airtight tin, room temperature	up to 3 weeks
Fridge	not needed
Freezer, baked but not sugared	up to 3 months

To serve from the freezer, defrost at room temperature, sprinkle with rose water and roll in icing sugar.

Kourabiedes

Melt-in-the-mouth Greek butter cookies with toasted almonds and brandy, buried in a snowy layer of icing sugar.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Greek

Pin Recipe

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 22

Cool 30

Total Time 1 27

Servings cookies

Calories 145

Equipment

Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Large mixing bowl
Sieve
2 baking trays
Baking paper
Wire rack

Ingredients

Cookies

250 g unsalted butter soft, at room temperature
80 g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp brandy or ouzo
1 tsp vanilla extract
150 g blanched almonds
1/2 tsp baking powder
400 g plain flour plus a little more if needed
1 pinch fine sea salt

To Finish

2 tbsp rose water or orange blossom water, optional
300 g icing sugar for coating

The butter must be soft but not melted. If it is too warm the cookies spread; chill the shaped dough for 15 minutes if your kitchen is hot.

For a nut-free version leave out the almonds; the cookies will be plainer but still good.

Instructions

Heat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). Spread the almonds on a tray and toast for 8 to 10 minutes until light golden and fragrant. Leave to cool, then chop coarsely. Lower the oven to 170 °C (150 °C fan).
Beat the soft butter with a stand mixer or electric mixer for 8 to 10 minutes until very pale, almost white, and fluffy.
Sift in the 80 g of icing sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk, brandy and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add them to the butter in two or three batches, mixing on low speed or by hand only until combined. Fold in the almonds. The dough should be soft but not sticky; add a spoon of flour if it sticks to your hands.
Roll pieces of about 25 g into balls or small crescents and place them on lined trays. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until firm and only just golden underneath. The tops should stay pale.
Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then sprinkle lightly with rose water. Sift a thick layer of icing sugar onto a tray, set the warm cookies on it and sift more over the top until covered. When completely cold, roll them once more in icing sugar.