"A beautiful Greek shortbread style cookie that is elevated by the lovely, nutty flavour of roasted almonds and crowned with a generous layer of icing sugar."
Kourabiethes
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Prep time: 40mins
Cook time: 35mins
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 55 gram blanched almonds
- 250 gram room temperature unsalted butter
- 30 gram sifted pure icing sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 500 gram sifted white self-raising flour
- 250 gram sifted pure icing sugar
Method
Preparing the blanched almonds
Step 1
Cut the blanched almonds into 3-4 pieces each, place them in a pan and dry-roast them in an oven preheated to 180°C fan forced till they brown (approximately 10 minutes)
Step 2
Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature before using them in the recipe
Preparing the kourabiethes
Step 1
Add the butter and 30g pure icing sugar to a stand-up mixer and beat until creamed
Step 2
Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract well
Step 3
Remove the mixing bowl from the stand
Step 4
Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and mix the butter mixture well
Step 5
Slowly add the flour and mix it through with each addition, until you have a dough with a dry, crumbly texture that can be formed into a kourabie, when you mould and press it together with your hands
Step 6
Add the roasted almonds half way through the flour adding process
Step 7
When the dough is ready, take a handful and place it on your clean work surface
Step 8
Gently press down on it, until it forms a large even disc that is about 1.5cm high
Step 9
Using a drinking glass or a round cookie cutter, cut out a round kourabie
Step 10
Using the drinking glass or cookie cutter once more, cut out a small section at the edge of the kourabie, so that the kourabie resembles a large, round crescent
Step 11
Place the kourabie on a baking tray that has been greased with unsalted butter
Step 12
Add the small dough offcut back into the kourabie dough
Step 13
Repeat until all the dough has been shaped into kourabiethes (Note: the last kourabie will be round in shape and a different size to the remaining kourabiethes)
Step 14
Bake the kourabiethes in an oven preheated to 180°C fan forced till they are a light, golden-brown colour (approximately 30-35 minutes)
Step 15
When the kourabiethes are taken out of the oven, immediately coat them with icing sugar
Coating the kourabiethes
Step 1
Place 250g of sifted pure icing sugar in a bowl
Step 2
Take a kourabie and sit it in the icing sugar
Step 3
With your fingers, pick up some icing sugar and sprinkle it on top of the kourabie
Step 4
Pat the icing sugar down gently
Step 5
Repeat, till you have a 1-1.5cm thick layer of icing sugar
Step 6
Repeat for all the kourabiethes
Serving the kourabiethes
Step 1
Once the kourabiethes have cooled, they can be enjoyed!
Key Points
Step 1
Dimitra always blanches her own whole almonds before cutting and roasting them. She feels they taste fresher in the kourabie and believes this small extra step makes for a better final result. She says she can taste the difference
Step 2
The blanched almonds need to be prepared well ahead of time, to ensure they are cool when added to the kourabie dough, otherwise the heat in the almonds will melt the butter in the dough and you won’t be able to form the kourabiethes
Step 3
It is important for the almonds to achieve a lovely golden-brown colour when they dry-roast, so they can impart that wonderful roasted almond flavour to the kourabiethes. At the same time, it is important not to over-brown or burn the almonds, as this will add a bitterness to the kourabiethes
Step 4
Dimitra uses Girgar butter and White Wings white self-raising flour when she makes her kourabiethes
Step 5
Depending on the ambient air temperature, the softness of the butter and the strength of the flour you use, you will need to adjust the quantity of flour you add each time, to achieve the right texture in the dough. In addition, if you prefer crumbly, drier kourabiethes you will use more flour. If you prefer softer, buttery kourabiethes, you will use less flour. It may take a few attempts to work out the dough consistency that is needed to achieve your preferred kourabie texture
Step 6
Add the flour very slowly and mix it well with each addition. It is easier to add a little flour if the dough is still soft and buttery, than suddenly end up with a very dry dough, that can’t be saved
Step 7
Although the recipe calls for 500g of flour, usually less is added (approximately 450g)
Step 8
Depending on your kourabie size preference, you can use a larger or smaller cookie cutter
Step 9
The kourabiethes must be baked till they are a light-medium, golden-brown colour, otherwise they will be undercooked and they will stick to the roof of your mouth when you eat them
Step 10
The kourabiethes need to be hot when you coat them with the icing sugar, so the base layer of the sugar sticks to the kourabie and keeps the rest of the icing sugar in place. Have your icing sugar sifted and ready, so you can coat the kourabiethes with the icing sugar when they come straight out of the oven. If you try to coat cooled kourabiethes, the icing sugar will just slide off
Step 11
Always use pure icing sugar when coating the kourabiethes, otherwise the butter will be drawn out by the icing sugar and will spoil the look of the kourabiethes
Step 12
DO NOT INHALE when taking a bite of the kourabie 🙂