Koulourakia Paschalina (Greek Easter Cookies)

Koulourakia Paschalina are Greek Easter Traditional Cookies, which  are crispy outside and soft inside, full of orange flavour.

They are the perfect treat with coffee or tea. 

Like most cookie recipes, this one as well has a lot of variations.

In others they add orange juice and orange rind, in others they do or do not add ammonia carbonate of baking soda, in others they add almond slivers, in others they add sesame seeds on top, sugar, etc.

Instead of brandy, some add ouzo in the cookies giving them an anise flavour. Others add milk instead of orange juice.

Most of the traditional Greek desserts like these Lambriatika koulourakia or tsourekia I learned to make them here in Greece and the recipes were given to me by my husband’s family.  

I made some changes to their recipe and added butter instead of oil and the taste was much better.

Traditionally, these cookies were not made  in Cyprus, where I lived until I got married, as we make flaounes for Easter.

However, during the last decades, with the use of the internet there is no single Greek recipe which they do not make in Cyprus as well.

How to make the perfect Koulourakia

Proper shaping:

• Cut pieces about 25–30 g each
• Roll into ropes about finger thickness
• Don’t roll them too thin → they will spread while baking

For braids:

• Press the ends together firmly
• If they don’t stick, use a tiny bit of water

Baking for perfect texture

Temperature:

• 170–180°C (top & bottom heat)
• 160–170°C (fan oven)

Time:

• About 15–16 minutes depending on their size
• Until light golden, not too dark

Pro tips (bakery-style result)

Egg wash:

• Brush once or twice for extra shine
• Leave space between cookies (they expand)
• If dough gets too soft:
  • Chill it for 10–15 minutes

Common mistakes

• Too much flour → cookies turn hard
• Overbaking → dry texture
• Very thin ropes → lose shape
• Ammonia not dissolved well → unpleasant smell

Extra tip about my recipe

Since my recipe uses both cake flour + all-purpose flour, you’ll get:

• soft, tender inside
• nicely structured outside

That’s exactly what you want for perfect koulourakia.

To ensure they are uniform, weigh the dough so each cookie is about 30 grams. With this size, you will get about 70 cookies, while if you make them 20 grams each, you will get around 100.

How To Shape your Koulourakia

Put the dough on your working surface and taking small pieces of dough form long cords, about 15 cm long and about the thickness of a woman’s pinky and shape them as you like.

Line your baking tin with parchment paper and place them a little spaced apart as they will rise.

Form the cookies into various shapes. Here are some examples.

Fold the cord in the middle and twist it to make a simple “braid”.

Just form them into a simple “S” shape.

Form them into two spirals each facing a different direction.

Just fold the cord in three.

Although these are not very traditional, you can pipe them using a star shaped nozzle.

Beat the egg yolk with some milk and brush the cookies. If you like, you can sprinkle some came sugar on top. 

Preheat oven to 180o C / 350o F (or 160o C if fan forced) and bake for about 15 minutes depending on your oven or until lightly browned.

Remove on a wire rack to cool and store in an air tight container.

On another note, Manina, of Manina’s Cooking, informed me that I was one of the five lucky winners to win Marcus Wareing’s fantastic cookbook, with my entry Pecan Cookies dessert and my One Perfect Ingredient which was whipped cream.

I am very excited and look forward to receiving it soon.

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!