This is my family’s traditional Kourabiedes (Greek Almond Christmas Cookies) recipe passed down by generations, exactly how my grandmother and mother used to make! A Greek Christmas table is never whole without Kourabiedes, so let’s get baking.
Kourabiedes are traditionally round. But you can always try different shapes and surprise your guests! Experiment with cookie cutters and turn Kourabiedes making into a family affair!
What are Kourabiedes (Greek Almond Christmas Cookies) made of?
Kourampiedes in essence are short bread cookies and thus the most important ingredient for these kourabiedes (Greek Almond Christmas Cookies) is the butter.
Butter
You want to buy the best quality unsalted butter you can get. The more fat content the butter has, the tastier you Kourabiedes will be. You will need butter with at least 82% fat and so my go to butter is Ghee! If you prefer some additional flavour, why not try them with Goat’s or Sheep’s butter! If you cannot find any of these in your local shop then choose the best quality and highest in fat butter you can get your hands on.
Almonds
The second most important ingredient of this recipe are the toasted almonds. Buy the best quality whole almonds you can get. There is no need to peel off the skin, it is the skin that adds extra flavour to these Christmas cookies. Roast them on a baking sheet until golden. Make sure not to burn as they will taste bitter!
Flour
Icing (powdered) sugar
Vanilla
A few drops of vanilla in the Kourabiedes dough will do wonders so make sure you add some. It is customary in Greece to also use Ouzo or Brandy, however, I stick to a few vanilla drops.
Rose water
Drizzle Kourabiedes (Greek Almond Christmas cookies) with a little bit of rose water for both floral smell and lovely sweet taste. Not only will these Greek butter cookies will taste and smell nicer, but also powdered ( or confectionary) sugar will stick to them better.
If you don’t have rose water you can substitute it for orange blossom water instead.
Tips for the best Kourabiedes
Butter
Invest on good quality unsalted butter. The better quality the butter is, the tastier the cookies will be. Choose a good quality full fat butter for the biscuits.
One of the most consuming parts of these Greek almond cookies recipe is beating the butter with sugar. Beat unsalted butter with icing sugar and a few drops of vanilla for approximately 20 minutes, until the mixture turns fluffy. I suggest you do this with either a stand mixer or a hand mixer as it may be too taxing with a hand whisk. Do this on medium to high speed.
If you wish to go the extra mile for Kourabiedes, then make your own clarified butter and use in this recipe. The process is time consuming indeed, but believe me your palate will thank you for it. In my chocolate Kourabiedes recipe I have a section of how to make your own clarified butter. Check it out here.
Last but not least, butter should always be of room temperature and not cold straight out of the fridge. So plan ahead and take the butter out of the fridge in preparation for Kourabiedes.
Batches
Once you have beaten the butter with icing sugar and vanilla drops, continue by adding the rest of the ingredients in batches and not all at once.
Kourabiedes dough
Kourabiedes dough is quite delicate and does not require a lot of kneading. Simply gently mix the ingredients and shape. Kourabiedes dough is equally as delicate as those of Melomakaraona
Even Kourabiedes
When shaping Kourabiedes (Greek Almond Christmas cookies) make sure they are of equal size and weight. I use kitchen kitchen scales to achieve this. Should these almond biscuits are of different sizes and weight they will be ready at different times which is not ideal. So make sure you weigh and shape them roughly the same.
For a quick hack use cookie scoops.
Baking Kourabiedes
Once you have shaped Kourabiedes to your desired shapes, then place them in parchment lined baking trays. Allow space between Kourabiedes and bake for 15-20 minutes. The secret to baking Kourabiedes is to take them out of the oven when they turn light brown. This may confuse you as you might be expecting a darker colour, but believe me they are ready very quickly. A quick tip to recognise when Kourabiedes are ready is to try to lift them off the parchment paper. They will lift easily.
Serving Kourabiedes
Kourabiedes are usually stacked into a platter and served cool just like Melomakarona are. Store them in an air tight container.
Vegan kourabiedes
Love chocolate?
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