Kourabiedes, otherwise known as Kourambiethes, are delicious melt-in-your-mouth almond shortbread cookies, coated in powdered sugar and shaped as round balls or crescents. The Greek cookie is traditionally prepared for Christmas as well as weddings and special occasions like baptisms.
Kourabiethes are easy to make but must be cooled completely before serving or storing since they are quite delicate to the touch.
We grew up eating Kourabiethes, melomakarona and amygdalota (almond cookies) during the holidays rather than any other type of cookie. My mom would share these delectable treats with the neighbors who in return gave us Christmas tree and Santa-shaped sugar cookies.
How to Pronounce Kourabiedes
In Greek, it's spelled κουραμπιεδες, which is pronounced kou-ram-bie-thes. The English B sound in Greek is made when you combine Μ and Π.
Kourabiedes Ingredients
- almonds are toasted and finely chopped for this recipe. You can use whole almonds or blanched slivered almonds. For maximum flavor, whole almonds have the most pure almond flavor.
- unsalted butter - this recipe uses a full pound of softened unsalted butter
- powdered sugar is sifted and used in the cookies as well as on top of the cookies, which gives the distinctive flavor and texture of this cookie.
- egg yolks emulsify and bind the dough, add fat, and give a velvety finish to the cookies.
- vanilla extract and almond extract give this cookie its delicious almond flavor. In some regions of Greece, brandy is used instead of extracts to impart a delicious flavor to the cookies
- baking powder helps the cookies rise
- all-purpose flour or bread flour can be used in this recipe. The flour must be sifted so there are no clumps. Bread flour will make the cookies softer/more crumbly than all-purpose flour.
Kourabiedes es are described as almond shortbread cookies because of the ratio of butter to sugar. A traditional shortbread cookie is one part sugar to 2 parts butter, thus resulting in a crumbly textured cookie.
Kourabiedes are light and airy, and they melt in your mouth
How to Make The Best Kourabiedes Recipe
Toast and chop the almonds.
Toast the almonds on a baking sheet in a preheated 350-degree oven for 6 to 10 minutes until golden and fragrant.
Coarsely chop the almonds or pulse in a food processor a few times. They should not be almond meal but have some small chunks in the texture.
In a stand-up mixer, beat the solidified clarified butter with 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar until the mixture is white and fluffy. This will take about 20 minutes of continuous mixing.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of flour into the mixture and beat for 5 minutes until combined. Next, add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and the almond extract.
Sift together the baking powder and the flour and incorporate one cup at a time until fully mixed. Add the chopped almonds and mix just until combined.
Feel the dough, it should be fluffy, not sticky or tacky to the touch. If it's sticky, add ¼ cup flour and mix until the dough is no longer sticky.
Shape the cookies into round balls or crescent moon shapes. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
The cookies should not be brown, but rather just slightly golden on the bottom.
Let the cookies cool slightly on the baking sheet.
Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment and dust it with sifted powdered sugar.
Place the mostly cooled cookies on top of the powdered sugar, then dust with additional sifted powdered sugar. Do this while the cookies are still slightly warm to seal the powder sugar coating.
Dust the cookies with sifted powdered sugar 2-3 times so they are fully coated.
Allow the cookies to cool completely for several hours before serving or storing them. The cookies will be very delicate to the touch.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The cookies can last several months if stored in the refrigerator.
Serve with a fresh dusting of sifted powdered sugar.
Toasting the almonds
Toasting the almonds brings out the almond flavor and oils. It adds delicious flavor to baked goods such as these Kourabiedes.
The Almond tree is one of the most famous trees in the Mediterranean countryside and is considered a symbol of hope, beauty, purity, and nature’s rebirth.
Almonds are used in preparing some of the most amazing dishes including Amygdalota, (almond cookies), Baklava, sauces and dips such as skordalia, and Romesco in Spain.
Almonds are an enduring symbol of happiness, luck, and fertility. For weddings and Christenings, almonds are dipped in a white candy coating and distributed to guests as a party favor. These are known as Koufeta.
Kourabides with Ouzo
You can substitute ouzo for the almond extract in this recipe. The ouzo adds a delicious sweet flavor to the cookies that is not overpowering.
Brandy or cognac can also be used rather than the almond and vanilla extracts. The type of liquor used makes the cookies distinctive to the baker. As my mom says, each recipe has its own Mysterio (mystery) that makes it unique.
Kourabiedes
Ingredients
- 2 cups slivered almonds toasted and finely chopped
- 1 lb. unsalted butter softened
- 3 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour sifted
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar for coating cookies sifted
Instructions
- Toast and chop the almonds.
- Toast the almonds on a baking sheet in a preheated 350-degree oven for 6 to 10 minutes until golden and fragrant.
- Coarsely chop the almonds or pulse in a food processor a few times. They should not be almond meal but have some small chunks in the texture.
- In a stand-up mixer, beat the softened butter with 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar until the mixture is white and fluffy. This will take about 20 minutes of continuous mixing.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of flour into the mixture and beat for 5 minutes until combined. Add egg yolks, vanilla extract, almond extract, baking powder and the sifted flour one cup at a time until incorporated.
- Add the chopped almonds. Feel the dough, it should be fluffy, not sticky or tacky.
- Shape the cookies into round balls or crescent moon shapes. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. The cookies should not be brown, but rather just slightly golden on the bottom.
- Let the cookies cool slightly on the baking sheet.
- Lay out a sheet of wax paper or parchment and dust it with sifted powdered sugar. Place the mostly cooled cookies on top of the powdered sugar, then dust with sifted powdered sugar. You'll want to dust the cookies with sugar 2-3 times.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely for several hours before storing the cookies. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The cookies can last several months if stored in the refrigerator.
- Serve with a fresh dusting of sifted powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Zoe says
These are my absolute favorite Greek cookies. The best! Your recipe is fabulous.
Suzanne says
My favorite cookies of all time. Love this recipe. So easy and the cookies are light and crumbly. Perfection