My 99-year old aunt Frosso bakes every year fragrant heirloom kourambiedes from a 200-year old recipe, very different from the cookies found in homes and bakeries. See also my Cycladic version below.
Aglaia, i was happy to see this post (as i am with all your posts) because id just been engaged with a FB friend in a conversation about Kourambiedes. My recipe is not quite so ancient as yours but it goes back to the 1960s and Craig Claiborne’s New York Times cookbook. I made them diligently for many years but somehow after the children grew up and before the grandchildren arrived, they fell off my radar. You’ve inspired me to resurrect them. Thank you!
For people who have no idea how to measure a cup of butter I got Chatcpt to convert this to a British recipe: (hope that's ok?)
Greek Almond Biscuits (Kourabiedes – UK Style)
Ingredients
300 g unsalted butter, very soft
(ideally sheep’s milk butter if available)
30 g icing sugar, plus 250–300 g icing sugar for coating
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp ouzo or brandy
(brandy is more traditional for kourabiedes)
150 g whole almonds, skins on, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
300–340 g plain flour
1¼ tsp baking powder
Method
Whip the butter
Beat the butter for 6–8 minutes using an electric mixer until extremely pale, fluffy, and mousse-like. This step is essential for authentic texture.
Sweeten & enrich
Gradually add the 30 g icing sugar, beating well.
Beat in the egg yolk, then the ouzo or brandy, mixing until fully incorporated.
Add dry ingredients
Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Add to the butter mixture in 2–3 batches, mixing gently on low speed or folding by hand.
Stop as soon as a soft, non-sticky dough forms.
Fold in almonds
Gently fold in the toasted almonds by hand. The dough should be tender and delicate, not elastic.
Shape
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
Shape tablespoons of dough into balls, ovals, or crescents, or roll out to 8 mm thick and cut with small cutters.
Place on lined trays, leaving 2–3 cm between biscuits.
Bake
Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the bases are just turning golden but the tops remain pale.
Scent
Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then lightly sprinkle with rose water or orange blossom water.
Sugar coat
Spread icing sugar onto a large plate.
While still slightly warm, very gently roll the biscuits in icing sugar.
Transfer to a rack and, once fully cool, dust again for the classic thick white coating.
Aglaia, i was happy to see this post (as i am with all your posts) because id just been engaged with a FB friend in a conversation about Kourambiedes. My recipe is not quite so ancient as yours but it goes back to the 1960s and Craig Claiborne’s New York Times cookbook. I made them diligently for many years but somehow after the children grew up and before the grandchildren arrived, they fell off my radar. You’ve inspired me to resurrect them. Thank you!