Making Greek Wedding Cookies: A Traditional Recipe Guide

Greek wedding cookies, also known as Kourabiedes or Kourabiethes, are a delicious, crumbly and sweet treat that is perfect for weddings and other special occasions. These cookies are buttery and soft, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, and are often coated in a generous amount of powdered sugar, giving them a festive look. They are relatively easy to prepare and can be made in less than an hour with simple pantry ingredients. So, if you're looking to add a touch of Greek culture to your celebration, making these cookies is definitely a great idea!

Ingredients

Greek wedding cookies, also known as Kourabiedes or Kourabiethes, are a type of shortbread cookie with a sweet, buttery flavour and a soft, crumbly texture. They are typically made with the following ingredients:

• Butter: Unsalted butter is preferred, as the recipe should not have added salt. The butter should be soft enough to cream but still cold.
• Powdered Sugar: This is used in the cookie mixture and for rolling the cookies in sugar later.
• Eggs: Only the egg yolk is used, separated from the egg white.
• Vanilla Extract: This enhances the flavour of the cookies and goes well with almond.
• Almonds: A key ingredient that contributes to the flavour. Ground almonds are typically used.
• All-Purpose Flour: This is used for the dough.
• Baking Powder: This helps to lighten the texture of the cookies.

Some variations of the recipe include the addition of rosewater, pistachios, or sheep's milk butter. The cookies are typically shaped into crescents or small balls and arecoated in powdered sugar for a festive appearance.

Mixing and shaping the dough

To make the dough for Greek wedding cookies, you'll need to combine butter, egg yolk, powdered sugar, almonds, vanilla extract, flour, and baking powder.

Start by creaming the butter in a bowl until it's light and fluffy. Then, add the egg yolk and powdered sugar, mixing well. Next, stir in the almonds and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder, before gradually adding this mixture to the butter mixture, stirring continuously until you have a smooth dough.

Once the dough is ready, it's time to shape the cookies. Take walnut-sized pieces of dough and shape them into crescents. Place them on a non-greased baking sheet, leaving a gap of about one inch between each cookie.

If you prefer, you can also shape the dough into small balls. To do this, roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball, place it on the baking tray, and make a small indentation in the centre with your finger. This will give the cookies a dimple that helps them keep their round shape during baking.

Chilling the dough in the fridge for a few minutes before shaping can help to prevent the cookies from spreading and flattening during baking.

Baking

Preheat your oven to a temperature between 325°F and 390°F.

Line your baking trays with parchment paper. If you don't have any parchment paper, lightly grease your trays with butter or use a non-stick spray.

Roll your cookie dough into walnut-sized balls and place them on the baking tray, leaving a gap of at least 1 inch between each cookie. You can shape them into crescents, small balls, or cylinders. If you want to be more adventurous, you can try shaping them into oblong footballs or large crescents. Just remember that the larger the cookies, the longer they will need to bake.

Place the trays with the unbaked cookies in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to let the butter set. This will help prevent the cookies from spreading and flattening during baking.

Bake your cookies for 15-20 minutes, or until they are very lightly browned. Be careful not to overbake them, as this will make them dry and crumbly. The ideal colour is a pale, faint golden tint.

Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking trays for a few minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Be gentle when handling the cookies as they will be fragile and prone to crumbling, especially while still warm.

Once the cookies have cooled, it's time to coat them with powdered sugar. Sift or sprinkle a generous amount of powdered sugar over the cookies, making sure they are completely covered. You can also roll the cookies in the sugar if you prefer.

Coating in sugar

Greek wedding cookies are coated in powdered sugar, also known as icing sugar or confectioners' sugar. The sugar gives the cookies a lovely festive appearance and a sweet flavour.

To coat the cookies in sugar, first, place a large sheet of waxed paper on a flat surface. Sift or sprinkle about a cup of powdered sugar onto the waxed paper. Using a small spatula, carefully transfer the cookies from the baking sheets onto the sugar-coated wax paper. Sift or sprinkle the remaining sugar over the cookies, making sure they are completely covered in sugar.

Leave the cookies to cool completely before serving or storing in an airtight container.

Storing

Kourabiedes, or Greek wedding cookies, are a type of cookie that can be stored for quite a long time. Here are some tips for storing them:

Firstly, it is important to let the cookies cool down completely before storing them. Some recipes recommend letting them cool for around 5 minutes on a rack, and then transferring them to a sheet of wax paper to be coated in powdered sugar. After coating, let them stand until cooled, and then store them in an airtight container.

Kourabiedes will keep for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature. However, if you want to store them for longer, you can keep them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to six months, or even freeze them for up to three months. If freezing, make sure to freeze them without the final coating of powdered sugar and only coat them once they have been thawed and you are ready to serve.

If you want to give these cookies as a gift, you can put them in a mason jar with a festive ribbon.

Frequently asked questions