These chocolate kourabiedes are made with buffalo milk butter and cocoa powder and filled with dark chocolate and orange preserve.
Each Christmas, I make a Christmas Cake, Melomakarona and Kourabiedes.
Instead of making them the same, over and over, I love tweaking my recipes, so I let my imagination run wild and turn them into something different each year.
If you are looking for the traditional recipes you will find the links to my recipes at the end.
Chocolate Kourabiedes with Buffalo Milk Butter
I made these chocolate kourabiedes back in 2011 but with so many things to do during the holidays I did not post the recipe that year and forgot all about them.
This year as I was going through my files I discovered them again so I decided to make them again, with a few minor changes.
When I made the Spinach and Mushroom Tart a couple of months ago I used buffalo milk butter and the crust reminded me of kourabiedes.
Since then, I made up my mind that I would make this year’s kourabiedes with buffalo milk butter.
The packages I bought this time are 150 grams each. At the time I bought only two packets as they are quite expensive and added a little bit of Ariston shortening/butter to make the amount I wanted. I also adjusted the ingredients a little bit.
As you may see the amount of butter is a little bit more than that in my cookbook and the amount of flour is less as I substituted an amount of flour in order to add the cocoa powder.
Instead of adding more flour to adjust the amount of more butter, I added a little bit more almonds. Those 10 more grams I put them in the food processor with a little bit of flour and ground them into almond meal to cover the difference.
The addition of blossom water to wet them is optional. Use only pure citrus blossom water.
Whenever I have bought blossom water from Greece it went down the drain because it is chemically produced and not pure blossom water.
The aroma of pure citrus blossom water is amazing so whenever I go to Cyprus I always bring some along and only use that one in my recipes.
In my cookbook I say 500 grams of icing sugar for sifting on top. Better more than less! However, if you sift the sugar gradually coating a small amount of kourabiedes each time, you can definitely reuse what is leftover to continue with the remaining.
I made a bigger batch in 2011 that’s why you can see some adjustments on the recipe.
Note: If you cannot find buffalo milk butter, you can substitute it with the same amount of ewe’s milk butter (which is the traditional one used) or cow’s butter. The taste of the final product may be different from the original as each butter has its own distinct flavour.
You will find the recipe at the end of the post.
My other unconventional Christmas Desserts
Christmas Cake:
I started my Christmas Cake rather late this year, that’s why it’s not ready yet.
I am still at the stage of waiting for the almost paste to dry a little bit more before I add the final layer.
This year I am going to attempt and dress it with fondant. I am not a fondant expert but my first attempt to make it was successful. Now I will have to see what I can create with the sugar paste. I will update the post on How to make sugar paste, after the holidays when I find some time.
What is interesting and different this year is that before the almond paste, instead of adding some jam on the cake, I created a spread using some of my leftover Chestnut and Dulce de Leche Spread, which I mixed with “threpsini”.
Threpsini (or stafidini) is a spread made with raisins, vegetable fat, glucose and lecithin. These two spreads combined together resulted into a new spread which tasted amazing.
It can be used on top or inside cakes, on bread, toast, crepes etc.
As my chestnut and dulce de leche spread had small lumps of chestnut in it, I pulsed both in a food processor to make the spread creamy.
Melomakarona with Date Walnut Filling and Orange Walnut filling:
The recipe for my melomakarona is again adapted from my cookbook and exactly the same as last year’s Mandarin Melomakarona, with the exception that wherever mandarin is mention, this year it’s all orange.
I made two fillings this year: I used Spartan Orange Preserve which I finely chopped and combined it with walnuts.
The second filling is with dates. Whichever you choose to use, they are both delicious.
Date and Walnut filling
Ingredients:
- 200 grams dates, stoned (weighed before removing the stone)
- 1 tablespoons blossom water
- 1 tbsp orange liqueur
- 100 grams walnuts, coarsely cut
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¼ tablespoon of ground cloves
- ½ tablespoon of cinnamon
- 60 grams (about 1 heaped tablespoon) butter or margarine
Directions:
- Put the walnuts in a food processor and pulse a couple of times. Do not powder but coarsely chop them.
- Put them in a small pot.
- Put the dates in the food processor and add the liquid ingredients, that is the honey, blossom water and orange liqueur which will help to cut the dates into smaller pieces.
- Add them to the pot and combine with the remaining ingredients
- Cook until the butter melts, for 1 – 2 minutes mixing until all the ingredients are combined.
- Set aside to cool before using.
Each melomakarono weighed 35 to 38 grams. I flattened it into a disc, added a teaspoon of filling and sealed it. I then pressed it on a box grater to make the design.
You can find all the Melomakarona ingredients and instructions here.
Chocolate Kourabiedes
These chocolate kourabiedes are made with buffalo milk butter and cocoa powder and filled with dark chocolate and orange preserve.
Ingredients
- 300 grams buffalo milk butter, at room temperature
- 100 grams shortening or butter
- 135 grams blanched and roasted almonds
- 135 grams icing sugar
- 30 ml brandy
- ½ tsp salt
- 630 grams all purpose flour
- 50 grams cocoa powder
- 1 vanilla bean (or 10 drops of vanilla essence)
For the filling:
- ½ cup citrus fruit preserve, I used orange but you can use mandarin, Seville orange, bergamot, kumquat or other citrus, finely chopped
- 50 grams dark chocolate (72% cocoa), finely chopped
Coating:
- Citrus blossom water
- 250 grams icing sugar
- 30 grams cocoa powder
Instructions
- Blanche and roast the almonds in a preheated oven to 180 degrees C for
about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. - Sieve the first amount of icing sugar Then sieve the flour with cocoa powder separately and mix in the salt.
- Coarsely chop the almonds in a food processor, adding a few tablespoons flour each time.
- Beat the butter with the icing sugar at high speed until it becomes white and fluffy. Add the brandy and vanilla and mix.
- Stop the mixer and switch to the dough hook Add the almonds as well as the remaining flour gradually until the dough is soft but not sticky on the hands.
- Preheat the oven to 180o C.
- Wear latex gloves and weigh pieces of dough around 35 - 37 grams, which place on a non-stick surface.
- Place a piece of cling film on your working surface and flatten the dough about 1 cm. Add a little bit of orange preserve and chocolate Take the two opposite sides of the cling film and fold the dough to enclose the filling Then take it into your hands and shape them into round balls Give them any shape you like.
- Place them in a baking tin lined with parchment paper and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes, depending on your oven.
- Set aside to cool
- Spray both sides with some citrus blossom water
- Invert them in a dry tray and sieve some icing sugar on them Turn them over and do the same
- Place them in a platter and sieve a little bit of cocoa powder on top.
- Put the used icing sugar back in the sieve and continue the same
procedure from the remaining - They can be stored in an air tight container for a long time.
Notes
If you cannot find buffalo milk butter, you can substitute it with the same amount of ewe's milk butter (which is the traditional one used) or cow's butter. The taste of the final product may be different from the original as each butter has its own distinct flavour.
Nutrition Information
Yield 50 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 146Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 4mgSodium 45mgCarbohydrates 23gFiber 1gSugar 10gProtein 3g
"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.
Traditional Greek Baklavas
The traditional Greek baklavas, is made with many layers of thin sheets of "phyllo kroustas",  which are brushed with butter, with various kinds of nuts and spices added between the layers and sweetened with honey syrup.
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.Â
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 A Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Hopefully I will post another recipe before the end of the year.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!
Taste of Beirut
Monday 29th of December 2014
Wow! This recipe is unusual but looks exciting! Wonderful, can't wait to try it.
Angie
Sunday 21st of December 2014
I want some too. Love the filling! Happy Holidays, Ivy! Angie
George theodoridis
Sunday 21st of December 2014
Ivy, Ivy, Ivy! What a great idea to make choc kourabiedes but, but, but! Buffalo milk butter? Where on earth is a poor migrant in australia going to find that ingredient? Please, mate (it's an australian expression, "mate!") when you have such unusual ingredients in the recipe include an alternative and the adjusted (if necessary) amount.
What do I do now? I'll ask the question on your fb post because I'll need to know in a hurry!
Ivy
Sunday 21st of December 2014
Dear George, butter is butter no matter from what animal it is derived. You can use cow's butter or ewe's butter without having to change the amount. Each butter has its own distinct flavour and that's what makes them different.
Rosa
Sunday 21st of December 2014
Mmmmhhh, fantastic! I wish I could taste them... ;-)
Cheers,
Rosa