By Maria A. Pardalis

Kourabiedes

As Christmas approaches, most Greek homes quickly fill with the sweet aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and baked almonds as families begin to prepare cookies, pastries and bread for the holiday season. White mountains of shortbread-like Christmas cookies, called Kourabiedes, beautifully adorn Greek bakeries worldwide. These scrumptious yuletide tidbits along with melomakarona are a must in every Greek home during the holiday season.

Kourabiedes are wonderful for gift giving and ideal for Christmas since ‘tis the season’ for giving homemade gifts from the kitchen, cookie swaps and parties. These light fabulous puffs of almond instantly melt in your mouth and are the easiest of all Greek cookies to make. If you are pressed for time, like most of us are during this time of the year, you can make kourabiedes in parts. The dough can be prepared ahead and frozen up to 2 weeks. When you are ready, simply defrost the dough and continue with step 3. However, before you freeze your dough, why not make a fun and festive event out of it? Gather your friends and family for a Christmas baking party and make kourabiedes together. You will not only slash your time in the kitchen, you will also have a fantastic time and may even create a new holiday tradition!

Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 15 minutes
Makes about 35 pieces

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 pound unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cups powdered sugar, plus additional for coating
• 2 egg yolks
• 4 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 cup almonds, finely chopped and toasted
• ¼ cup cognac
• 3 to 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine butter, powdered sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy, for about 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Gradually add vanilla, cognac, baking powder, flour and almonds. Continue to mix well for 2 minutes.
3. Transfer dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Knead dough well and let stand for about 10 minutes.
4. Break off 1-inch pieces of dough and roll between palms. Shape into crescents, rounds or ovals. If you want to make a more festive cookie, use Christmas themed cookies cutters for half the batch. I personally love tree and star shaped cutters, which are especially popular among children.
5. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
6. Carefully transfer the cookies onto a wire rack and immediately sift powdered sugar over cookies until generously coated.

Once they cool, place onto a festive serving tray and enjoy!

Store extra kourabiedes in an air tight container because they are fragile and become extremely soft and easily crumble when exposed to humidity.

Kali Orexi and Hronia Polla!

DID YOU KNOW...

It's believed that leaving Christmas cookies for Santa originated during the Great Depression as a way to keep children's spirits up during a hard time?