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Greek Kourambiedes Cookies
in Diana's Recipe Book
 |
Average Rating:
 
(total ratings: 2) |
| Servings: Makes 4 dozen cookies |
| Comments: Kourambiedes Greek shortbread is prepared mainly during Christmas. It is filled with almonds and sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. In Greece, the big midwinter feast isn't Christmas but New Year's Day. It's the feast day of St. Basil, the founder of the Greek church, and on that day everyone has a vasilopitta—Basil's bread—a big sweet bread with a cross baked on top and a coin buried inside. You cut a slice for everyone, and the tradition is that whoever gets the gold will be lucky that year. But there are also foods special to Christmas, stuffed turkey with chestnuts, rice, raisins, pine nuts and spices. And everyone has to have something sweet on hand for the carolers who come to the house: nuts and raisins, and traditional cookies like KOURAMBIEDES, which are GREEK SHORTBREADS, or diples, which are supposed to look like Christ's swaddling clothes. |
Ingredients:  1/2 cup blanched almonds 16 oz. unsalted butter, softened 3 tbsp. confectioners' sugar 2 egg yolks 3 tbsp. cognac, or other brandy 1 tsp. vanilla extract 3 cups cake flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder Whole cloves (optional) Confectioners' sugar (about 1 pound), for sifting over tops |
| Instructions: Prehat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C). Spread almonds in single layer on baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven; cool, and chop coarsely. Beat softened butter in large bowl of electric mixer on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Add the 3 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar; continue beating 3 minutes. Add egg yolks, cognac and vanilla; beat until smooth. Mix in almonds, flour and baking powder until mixed well (if dough is too soft to handle, add additional flour). Shape tablespoons of dough between your palms and roll into round balls or oval shaped or crecsent shaped cookies. Place (push down slightly) one whole clove on top of each cookie, (optional). Bake in preheated oven on ungreased baking sheets until set and very pale golden in color, about 15 minutes. The shortbread cookies should not be too brown, a very light color, almost no color. Remove cookies to cooling rack. Place remaining confectioners' sugar into sifter, and while cookies are still hot, sift confectioners' sugar over tops. When cookies are completely cool, roll cookies in confectioners' sugar, and then repeat this rolling in sugar one more time. Place each cookie in a pretty paper muffin cup for serving, if desired. Makes 4 dozen shortbread cookies. |
| Source: DianasDesserts.com |
| Date: October 19, 2002 |
Reviews
Reviewer: Rocco
Rating:
Review:
Your recipe is woefully low on sugar!!! It should take more like 1 cup of confectionary sugar instead of 3 tbls. I made them thinking I would be disappointed after having made them many times before with the higher sugar content. I would also omit the nuts and go with the whiter dough for a far better, smoother texture. P.S. All my Greek families agree. Google for other recipes and how many use this little sugar, extremely few. But, thanks for posting.
Rating:
Review:
Your recipe is woefully low on sugar!!! It should take more like 1 cup of confectionary sugar instead of 3 tbls. I made them thinking I would be disappointed after having made them many times before with the higher sugar content. I would also omit the nuts and go with the whiter dough for a far better, smoother texture. P.S. All my Greek families agree. Google for other recipes and how many use this little sugar, extremely few. But, thanks for posting.
Reviewer: Tasha
Rating:
Review:
great! I used it for a class project! They loved it!
Rating:
Review:
great! I used it for a class project! They loved it!