Diana's Desserts - www.dianasdesserts.com
See more recipes in Christmas

Greek Christmas Shortbread

in Guest Recipe Book

Average Rating: 
(total ratings: 4)
[Read reviews] [Post a review]
Servings: 4 dozen
 
Comments:
Kourabiethes:

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 KOURABIETHES, 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:
Heat oven to 350°F (175 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 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.

Makes: 4 dozen cookies.

Source: DianasDesserts.com
Date: October 19, 2002

Reviews

Reviewer: Saria
Rating: 
Review:
Don't listen to Simon ioannou... this recipe is wonderful for the holidays and tastes delicious.

 
Reviewer: SIMON IOANNOU
Rating: 
Review:
It is unfortunate that persons like Saria who are gastronomically ignorant lead others astray. Anyone who bothers to make a comparative taste test between my recipe and the one which Saria claims as "good for the holidays" will immediately perceive that the rosewater is indispensible and that the difference in taste is something akin to chalk and cheese.

Saria's viewpoint is only to be accepted if someone deliberately wishes to eat something which is inferior as opposed to that which is superior and sublime.

Saria, dear, I dare you to organise a blind taste test for 12 Middle-East friends and see which they prefer.

 
Reviewer: SIMON IOANNOU
Rating: 
Review:
WARNING: THIS RECIPE, LIKE VIRTUALLY ALL RECIPES FOR KOURABIETHES FOUND ON THE INTERNET, IS FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG AND FLAWED. THIS RECIPE FAILS TO POINT OUT THAT THE BISCUIT HAS TO BE EITHER IMMERSED IN ROSEWATER, OR BRUSHED LIBERALLY WITH ROSEWATER, BEFORE IT IS COVERED IN ICING SUGAR. THERE IS NO COMPARISON IN TASTE BETWEEN THE BLANDNESS OF THE ABOVE RECIPE AND ALL THE OTHERS ON THE INTERNET, AND THE INCREDIBLE AROMA AND SEDUCTION OF KOURABIETHES FLAVOURED WITH ROSEWATER BEFORE BEING COVERTED IN ICING SUGAR. PLEASE PASS ON THIS WARNING. (FOR THOSE WHO DOUBT MY CREDENTIALS, I WAS BORN IN ATHENS, LEARNT THE RECIPE FROM MY MOTHER, AND AS A STUDENT OF COOKERY HAD MY MOTHER'S RECIPE CONFIRMED IN THE BOOKS OF THE GREAT MEDITARRANEAN AND MIIDLE-EAST COOKERY EXPERT, CLAUDIA RODEN.)

SIMON IOANNOU ==============

 
Reviewer: asimina
Rating: 
Review:
Simon is right. I have been making my mom's recipe and rosewater is a must. Kourambiedes without rosewater are just plain butter cookies. That is what makes these cookies stand out.

 

Add Your Review

  YOUR NAME (required)
  YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS (required)
 (Excellent)
 (Very Good)
 (Good)
 (Could be Better)
 (Poor)
  RATING (required)
YOUR REVIEW:

More Recipes in this Section

Holiday Mulled Cider 14 Minute Maple Candy Almond Cookies with Kisses Almond Toffee Anise Candy Apple Cider Gingerbread Squares Applesauce Fruitcake Bars with Caramel Icing Butterscoth Apple Dip Buttery Spritz Cookies Chocolate and Pear Christmas Trifle Chocolate and Pecan Tartlets Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Cake Chocolate Cranberry Torte Chocolate Cream Pie Chocolate Crinkles Chocolate Gingerbread Chocolate Raspberry Trifle Chocolate Rum Raspberry Cake Roll Chocolate Sticky Toffee Pudding Chocolate Strawberry Port Cake Chocolate-Almond Yule Log Christmas Ball Cookies Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies Christmas Chocolate Toffee Christmas Egg Nog Christmas Fruit Nut Bread Christmas Fruitcakes Christmas Ice Cream Cake Christmas Lemon Curd Cheesecake Christmas Macaroons Christmas Morning Cinnamon Buns Christmas Morning Sticky Buns Christmas Mulled Cider Christmas Peppermint Candies Christmas Plum Pudding-The Easy Way Christmas Popcorn Crunchies Christmas Shortbread Cookies Christmas Stollen Cinnamon Pecans Country Club Salad Cranberry Apple Crescent Cookies Cranberry Bread Pudding Cranberry Eggnog Cheesecake Cranberry Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake Cranberry Shortbread Cookies Cranberry Tiramisu Cranberry Upside-Down Cake Cranberry Yam Bread Cranberry-Raspberry Charlotte Cran-Orange Cheesecake with Sugared Cranberries Crostata di ricotta Danish Christmas Gløgg Danish Julekage (Christmas Loaf) Danish Klejners Danish Vanillekranse Christmas Cookies Dark Chocolate Truffles Delectable Chocolate Wreath Easy Fruitcake Eggnog Snickerdoodles Festive Applesauce Cake Festive Pumpkin Bundt Cake Filled Speculaas Fruitcakes for Gift-Giving Gift Cakes and Breads for the Holidays Gift Giving Peanut Butter Snowballs Gift-Giving Cranberry Pumpkin Loaves Gingerbread Gingerbread Bundt Cake Gingerbread Cake with Crème Anglaise Gingerbread People Gingerbread Squares with Chocolate Topping Gingered Fruitcake
Gingered Fruitcake Glazed Gingerbread Cake Gløgg Golden Eggnog Holiday Braid Grandma's Applesauce Cake Greek Christmas Shortbread Holiday Ambrosia Holiday Dinner Rolls Holiday Eggnog Bread Holiday Fudge Torte Holiday Mini Kisses Treasure Cookies Holiday Peppermint Bark Homemade Marshmallows for Christmas Hot Buttered Rum Hot Cocoa Jam Cake Jamaican Dark Rum Christmas Fruitcake Julia Child's Plum Pudding for Christmas Kenny's Christmas Figgy Pudding Kugelhopf for Christmas Linzer Cookies Maple Sugar Tartlets Mincemeat Filling Mincemeat Pie Mini Pecan Tarts Nutmeg Cheesecake Olde English Christmas Pudding Old-Fashioned Fruit Cake Pandoro-Christmas Bread from Verona, Italy Panettone-Christmas Bread from Italy Panforte Parker House Rolls Pecan Tart Penuche Peppermint Cream Filled Yule Log Persimmon Pudding Puffed Pastry Snowflakes and Stars Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies Ribbon of Cherry Cheesecake Rich Steamed Christmas Pudding Ris ala mande-Danish Christmas Rice Pudding Roasted Chestnuts for Christmas Royal Icing Royal Icing-Made with Meringue Powder Russian Tea Cakes Saint Nicholas Cake Snowball Cake Snowflake Eggnog Cookies Soft Glazed Gingerbread Soft Potato Cinnamon Rolls Spicy Applesauce Cheesecake with Caramel Nut Sauce Spicy Chocolate Applesauce Cake Spicy Rudolph's Steamed Christmas Persimmon Pudding Steamed Cranberry Pudding with Pistachio Cream Sticky Toffee Date Pudding Sugared Cranberries Sugarplums Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Streusel Topping Tangy Mince Tarts Texas Cranberry Dip Tres Leches Egg Nog Cake Turkish Delight Venetian Christmas Bars Victorian Christmas Cake Viennese Crescents White Chocolate Cranberry Tart White Chocolate Dipped Gingerbread Cookies White Chocolate Pecan Squares White Chocolate, Whiskey Croissant Butter Pudding White Christmas Pudding Yule Log with Meringue Mushrooms Zesty Orange Bread