Kourabiedes are Greek cookies, similar to shortbread cookies, coated with icing sugar.
Their main ingredients are butter, icing sugar and flour.
They are usually flavoured with vanilla or masticha (mastic resin) and a well known brand of Greek brandy is also added.
Instead of brandy, twists to the traditional recipes call for rum, ouzo or other alcoholic beverages.
In Cyprus, the cookie is wet with rose or blossom water and then coated with icing sugar.
There are many recipes for kourabiedes as each family adds something different to make them.
What is the best butter to make kourabiedes?
A very significant factor to have tasty kourabiedes lies mainly on the quality of butter used.
Ewe’s milk butter or a mixture of ewe’s and goat milk butter is used but if you can’t find any, you can substitute it with regular cow’s milk butter.
Although they will still be delicious, the taste will not be the same.
In Cyprus, we used to make them with spry shortening but this is not available in Greece. I’ve also made them with buffalo milk butter and they tasted amazing.
While Kourabiedes are now popular holiday delicacies, mostly during Christmas, in the older times these were a treat for many Greek occasions, mostly weddings, engagements, christenings, name days, birthdays, etc.
Origin of the word “kourabies”
The word Kourabies (plural kourabiedes) originates from Qurabiya in Azerbaijani, Qurabiyə,in Arabic, Kurabiye, in Turkish and of course you will find this “cookie” under a similar name in many other countries as well.
The word literally means Kuru = dry, biye = biscuit.
However, the word biscuit was given around the Middle Ages, etymologically deriving from the Latin bis-cuit, which means baked twice.
This technique was known in ancient Greece and was called “δί-πυρον” (di-pyron) which means baked twice.
This technique was developed by the ancient Greeks mainly to preserve bread for the soldiers and seafarers.
In modern Italian, the word for cookies is biscotto (cookies is of Flemish / Dutch origin that passed to the English language).
The Latin word bis-cuit, was spread by Venetian merchants to Asia, where it was established as a corruption of the Latin word to biya / biye, which they connected with their own Qura / Kuru (which means dry) and gave a new compound word mixing Latin with oriental to form the word Qurabiya / Kurabiye. This word was later borrowed and it thus returned to the West.
The Hellenized word “kourabiedes” was formed in the sense of dry biscuit, which was mixed with almonds and coated with icing sugar.
Almonds were used because of their abundance in Greece and Cyprus but depending on the regions where there is abundance of walnuts, they are used instead of almonds.
The production of pistachios in Greece started in the early nineteenth century and now pistachios are also used.
When these cookies became a Christmas treat, they were given a crescent shape and a whole clove was inserted on the top to represent the gift of spices that the Three Wise Men brought to Bethlehem.
The sprinkling of icing sugar is probably due to the fact that Christmas is during winter when there is snow but this is only my assumption.
Similar cookies I know of, are the Mexican Wedding Cakes, the Spanish Polvorón and the Italian Wedding Cookies.
We can shape them by hand by making small round balls around 23 – 25 grams each which can be flattened or give them a crescent shape or even use a cookie cutter. The time of baking will depend on their size and your oven.
Aromatic Greek Kourabiedes
These aromatic Kourabiedes (Greek Christmas cookies) are flavoured with vanilla and citrus blossom water.
Ingredients
- 300 grams (0.6 lbs) ewe’s butter, at room temperature
- 200 grams (0.4 lbs) blanched and roasted almonds
- 300 grams (0.6 lbs) icing sugar (sieved)
- 450 grams (1 lb) all-purpose flour
- 1 shot (30 ml ) brandy
- ½ tsp vanilla essence or 2 vanillins
- 1 tbsp citrus blossom water
For coating:
- Citrus blossom water
- 300 grams (0.6 lbs) icing sugar
Instructions
- Blanche and roast the almonds in a preheated oven to 180o C (350oF), for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool and then coarsely cut them into smaller pieces.
- Sieve the sugar. Then sieve the flour separately.
- Beat the butter with the icing sugar at low speed until incorporated and then beat at high speed for ten minutes until it becomes white and fluffy. Add the brandy, citrus water and vanilla and stir.
- Stop the mixer. Change the paddle to the dough hook, add the almonds and continue stirring, adding the flour gradually until the dough is soft but not sticky on the hands.
- You can use a cookie cutter or manually shape them into crescents or round balls and place on a baking tin lined with parchment paper, spaced apart.
- Bake for about 12 minutes, depending on your oven. (They will be very soft but will firm up when then cool).
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Using a spray bottle spray them on both sides with citrus blossom water.
- Turn them upside down on a dry surface and using a sieve, sprinkle some icing sugar. Turn them over again and continue sieving until they are coated.
Notes
Note: The leftover icing sugar used may be sieved and used again.
They yield 65 x 23- 25 grams each.
Nutrition Information
Yield 65 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 113Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 10mgSodium 45mgCarbohydrates 15gFiber 1gSugar 9gProtein 1g
"These values are automatically calculated and offered for guidance only. Their accuracy is not guaranteed."
Christmas Desserts
Looking for inspiration for this Christmas?
Gingerbread Cookies with Carob Syrup
These gingerbread cookies are made with carob syrup instead of molasses and perfect to add to your Christmas cookies recipes.
Diples
Diples (pronounced diip-LESS), which means folded, is another traditional Christmas sweet pastry, made in many parts of Greece especially in the Peloponnese. These are the desserts they serve at weddings, christenings, engagements etc. but are also very popular during Christmas.
Melomakarona with Chocolate
Melomakarona are spicy Christmas olive oil and semolina cookies drenched in a honey syrup and sprinkled with walnuts on top.
Mandarin Melomakarona
"Melomakarona" (honey cookies) is a traditional recipe made during Christmas. The cookies are made with olive oil and drenched in a honey syrup, with lots of walnuts on top.
Eggless Nanaimo Salepi (Sahlab) Bars
Nanaimo Bars are a classic Canadian Christmas dessert. They are made with a chocolate biscuit base, coconut, and walnut crust then topped with a layer of custard and topped with chocolate.
Christmas Chocolate Wafer Coconut Roulade
This Christmas Chocolate Wafer Coconut Roulade is made with a biscuit base crust and is filled with pastry cream, topped with chocolate ganache.
Christmas Chocolate Carob Yule Log (Bûche de Noël)
A Yule log (or bûche de Noël in French, is a traditional Christmas dessert made of a yellow sponge cake which is shaped into a roulade in order to create a chopped branch.
White Christmas Fruit Cake
Ever since the British occupation of Cyprus, Christmas cake has been a big part of our holiday celebrations. Many families have a traditional recipe for a Christmas Cake and ours is no exception.
Traditional Christmas Cake
A traditional Christmas cake recipe which is filled with homemade fruit preserve, as well as nuts, raisins brandy and treacle.
Vanillekipferl (Christmas Almond Crescent Cookies)
Vanillekipferl are cookies which originate from Austria and can be found in many other countries such as Germany, Hungary and otheer Eastern European counties.
Chocolate Kourabiedes
These chocolate kourabiedes are made with buffalo milk butter and cocoa powder and filled with dark chocolate and orange preserve.
Easy Chocolate Truffles from Christmas Leftovers
These truffles are an ingenious way to use up leftover kourabiedes, melomakarona, Christmas Cake, or Cookies.
Melomakarona with Pecans
Melomakarona with Pecans are one of our Christmas traditional cookies which are infused in honey. They have no butter, no eggs, nothing dairy but they are so tasty you cannot just eat one.
Kourabiedes by Parliaros
These kourabiedes are adapted from the famous Greek pastry chef, Stelios Parliaros.
Aromatic Greek Kourabiedes
These aromatic Kourabiedes (Greek Christmas cookies) are flavoured with vanilla and citrus blossom water.
Melt in your mouth Kourabiedes
Kourabies (pl. kourabiedes) are the Greek shortbread cookies made during Christmas. In the older times, before the use of the mixer, these cookies needed elaborate preparation and that was done by hand, so these were made for special occasions such as weddings, christenings and other celebrations.
Black Lava Orange Gateau, A gourmet dessert made out of leftovers
This Black Lava Orange Gateau, is easy to make and was made out of leftover Christmas Cookies. Everyboday gets fed up of eating the same cookies for many days, so I decided to use my leftovers and make a new dessert which we enjoyed after the holidays!
Wishing you all A Merry Christmas!
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A similar recipe is included in my cookbook “My CookbooksMint, Cinnamon & Blossom Water, Flavours of Cyprus, Kopiaste!
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
Angie
Wednesday 25th of December 2013
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Ivy. Your kourabiedes look very tasty!
Angie
Wednesday 25th of December 2013
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too, Ivy. Your kourabiedes look very delicious!