Kourabiedes, traditional Greek shortbread recipe

Kourabiedes are shortcrust cookies typical of the Greek Christmas holidays. Made from flour, almonds and butter, they have two traditional shapes: one is round and flattened and the other is the one we propose here. Very easy to make, they keep for a long time.

recipe information

• • Preparation time: 25 minutes

• • Cooking time: 25 minutes

• • total time: 50 minutes

• • rations: 6 (24 cookies)

• • Category: dessert

• • type of cuisine: Greek

• • calories: 530 kcal per 100 g

Kourabiedes ingredients for 6 people

• • 250g butter

• • 80g icing sugar

• • 300 g flour

• • 150 g ground almonds

• • 50 g of whole almonds

• • ½ teaspoon chemical booster

• • ¼ teaspoon fine salt

How to make greek almond cookies

Heat the oven to 200ºC. Cut the almonds into slices.

Toast the almonds in the oven for a few minutes until they take on some color, without burning. Lower the oven to 180ºC.

While the almonds are toasting, in a food processor (or with electric whisks or by hand) assemble the melted butter with the icing sugar.

Sift the flour together with the yeast and salt.

Add the ground almonds and sifted flour to the butter, together with the cold toasted almonds.

Form the cookies: take a small portion of dough, first make a ball and then a strip. Arrange on a kitchen plate lined with parchment paper, giving it the characteristic waning moon shape (or crescent, depending on your point of view!). There should be at least 24 cookies.

Bake the cookies at 180 ºC for about 25 minutes -as all ovens are different, start checking your cookies around the 20th minute just in case-. They should be very golden. Be careful because when they are hot they will still be soft.

Let cool on a rack and sprinkle with plenty of icing sugar. They keep well in a tin box for quite some time.

Easy preparation summary

1. 1. Chop and toast the whole almonds

1. 1. Cream the butter with the icing sugar

1. 1. Add the sifted flour, the chemical booster, the salt and the ground almonds

1. 1. Form the cookies, giving them their characteristic crescent shape

1. 1. Bake at 180ºC for about 25 minutes until golden brown.

1. 1. Let cool and sprinkle with icing sugar