Kourabiedes - Greek Christmas Butter Cookies

Kourabiedes, the traditional Greek Christmas butter cookies, are sweet and buttery with toasted almonds and powdered sugar.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Greek

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 20

Cookie dough rest ive 20

Servings cookies

Calories 185kcal

Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 320°F / 160°C. Let the almonds cool. Pulse almonds in a food processor into thick pieces or break them with a mortar and pestle.
Using your mixer beat the butter with the sugar using the wire whip attachment at high speed for about 20 minutes. Gradually add the flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Continue beating at a lower rate for 10 minutes until the mixture turns white and is a fluffy white cream.
Remove mixing bowl from mixer and fold in the almonds and rum.
Form cookies into a round shape with a diameter of 1.5 inches. Press lightly with your finger on the top. Place cookies on a parchment paper baking sheet. Bake them in a preheated oven at 350°F / 170° C for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size we made them.
Remove from the oven, and let cookies cool completely.
Optional: Fill a spray bottle with rose water and spray the cookies lightly. Or sprinkle some with your fingers.
Add the icing sugar to a large bowl. Add the cookies to the bowl with the sugar. Turn cookies around, cover them well with sugar, and transfer them to a serving platter.
For serving: Often, home cooks create a pyramid shape with the cookies, sprinkling each row with extra sugar.

The fluffier and creamier the butter mixture is, the fluffier the cookies will be.
Whipping the butter with the sugar requires high speed. But as soon as we start gradually adding flour, the speed needs to be low to avoid ruining the fluffy texture of the butter and sugar mixture.
Kourabiedes are baked at a low temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. They should come out of the oven with a light color and without a hard texture.
Spilling the icing sugar when the cookies are fully cooled is imperative. Otherwise, if the cookie is still warm, the sugar will create a layer on top that will be thick and without a pleasant taste.
The almonds need to be cool when added to the dough; otherwise, the dough will tighten significantly.
The dough should be soft, buttery, and pliable. Allow the dough to rest covered for 20 minutes. This will make the cookies easier to shape.
It is not suggested to cut the cookies with a cookie cutter. It is better to shape them by hand due to the almond pieces. You can skip the almonds and use cookie cutters to shape them into stars, hearts, etc.

The cookies must be covered when not served because they easily absorb moisture and get damp.
They can be kept for a long time when stored in an airtight container. Add parchment paper between cookie layers when you store them so they do not rub against each other.

Nutritional Info – Please remember that the nutritional information provided is only an estimate and can vary based on the products used.