Kourabiedes - Greek Almond Crescent Cookies

These Kourabiedes (or Kourabiethes) Traditional Greek Almond shortbread cookies often called Greek butter cookies/Greek Almond cookies are delicious, melt-in-your-mouth and a staple in Greek households. This is a small batch recipe for them that I love because it’s quick and simple, not too sweet, nutty, oh so buttery and downright addictive.

They are quite often served during festive occasions like weddings and showers along with melomakarona but you will be craving them on any occasion. A lot of recipes yield 80 sometimes 100 cookies - perfect if you are making them for a wedding but sometimes you just want a smaller batch. This recipe is very easy to double or triple if you ever need to make a larger batch or are making plenty to share.

They smell so fragrant while baking, your nose will tell you when they are just about done baking too. Enjoy wisely - meaning never sneeze cough or laugh while they are in or near your mouth. I love mine with a nice hot cup of not too sweet Turkish coffee - but feel free to have them with anything you enjoy your cookies with. These cookies fall under the shortbread category but I have heard them described as snowball cookies or often called almond crescent cookies depending on what shape you bake them in. They have a delicious buttery flavour and texture similar to shortbread cookies. The Greek version is flavoured with vanilla, ouzo or brandy, a pinch of salt, and coated in lots of powdered sugar.

Kourabiedes Ingredients

You only need a handful of pantry ingredients to make these cookies. This is what you will need to make these cookies:

• BUTTER: I use unsalted butter and make sure it room temperature - I typically use cows milk butter (some recipes call for sheep butter or goat but I have not tried either of those for these cookies.) What about using vegetable shorting? More on that in the variations section below…
• POWDERED SUGAR: You will need approx 1½ cups confectioners’ sugar. ½ cup for the actual cookie dough and the rest for dusting and rolling the cookies in. The amount varies depending on how much you want to cover your cookies.
• ALMONDS: I use whole almonds because I love the flavor of them - but many prefer to use blanched almonds. They must be toasted for best flavor. Toast them over low-medium heat in a skillet tossing them often or in the oven keeping a close eye on them as they can burn quite quickly if left unattended. I like to chop them finely or use a food processor or mini chopper to do all the work - a few whizzes around in the processor and you have yourself finely chopped almonds. I dump them straight into a small skillet and toast them until lightly golden and fragrant.
• OUZO or BRANDY/COGNAC: Choose either one. These do not add alcohol or boozy flavor but simply flavor these like vanilla flavors anything
• VANILLA EXTRACT: It’s a must for these Greek Shortbread cookies. I recommend pure vanilla extract for best flavor.
• OPTIONAL ADD INS: I love to add a bit of almond extract or Amaretto liqueur to give the almonds more of a pronounced flavor, plus a little orange extract - it’s marvellous in these. If you don’t have orange extract you can add a very small amount of orange zest - the zest is strong though and you don’t want to add too much as it will overpower the other flavors. Many recipes call for spraying or dabbing the warm cookies with a little bit of rose water - I love doing this BUT a little goes a long way. Placing the rose water in a spray bottle and very lightly spraying them with it is ideal but if I don’t have an extra spare bottle laying around round I dip my pastry brush in a little bit of rose water and then lightly flick it to create a bit of a spray over the cookies. Dabbing them runs a risk of wetting them too much and changing the texture so a bit of a caution - also brushing them or dabbing them with the rose water will transmit a lot of the rose water flavor when all you want is a subtle amount.
  
  

As you can see these are made with pretty simple ingredients. Because butter shines in shortbread cookies including these, it’s always best to use the highest quality butter that you can find or use. It will add to the flavour and texture of the dough.

Kourabiethes Variations:

• Almonds can be substituted for other nuts like pecans, or walnuts, or many opt to leaving them out if they are allergic - they make wonderful vanilla shortbread cookies too
• Vanilla extract can be substituted with almond extract giving these almond cookies even more delicious almond flavour. You can also do a combo of the both to make up the same amount - I like doing 1 tsp vanilla and ½ tsp almond like I did in the recipe.
• You can make these Gluten Free by using a good quality gluten free 1-1 flour.
• For a dairy free version you could replace the butter with a good vegan butter or plant based butter.
• You can either use brandy or cognac to add to the signature flavour of these tasty Greek cookies if you don’t have ouzo or skip it all together or substitute it with more vanilla
• The icing sugar is one of the signature features of the cookie recipe. Feel free to reduce the amount used to dust them with but do not reduce the amount in the dough. I grew up having these with ample amounts of it dusted on top but I know others prefer just a very light dusting on there’s. You decide how you like them.
• Many recipes call for lighty brushing or spraying the baked cookies with a little rose water or orange blossom water right out the oven for extra flavor. I prefer rose water and I mentioned some cautions above to keep mind when using it.
• If you prefer to use almond flour you can - use it as is or toast it lightly in a skillet stovetop for more flavor.
• Can I use shortening with the butter? Yes you definitely can. My mom always used half butter and half vegetable shortening or crisco. Adding Shortening to baked goods does help the texture get nice and light and fluffy. So feel free to use 1 stick shortening and 1 stick butter - I make these with all butter or half and half depending on what I might have on hand at the time.
  
  

How To Make Kourabiedes

They are extremely easy and quick to make- there are just a few steps involved and some critical tips to making them with the perfect melt in your mouth texture with a crisp exterior. Here is a breakdown of the simple steps (full instructions in recipe card below).

1. TOAST cool and chop or blitz your whole almonds or slivered almonds in a food processor (or blitz then toast - either way works)
2. CREAM the butter and powdered sugar until well incorporated and light and fluffy 3-5 minutes.
3. BEAT in the extracts and the ouzo
4. BEAT in the flour until just incorporated then add the almonds until just incorporated. Switch to using a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl and ensure all the flour is fully incorporated or you can use your hands to knead it in gently. The dough will look slightly crumbly. If the dough is too sticky (a little sticky is fine but if you can’t even grab it without it sticking all over your fingers) you can fold in or knead a little flour 1 tablespoon at a time just until it’s not overly sticky.
5. SCOOP & SHAPE dough and place on prepared baking sheet
6. BAKE until edges are very lightly golden and cookies are fragrant
7. COOL in pan on cooling rack
8. TOSS COOKIES in powdered sugar and dust more on top to coat as much as desired.
   
   

Kourabiethes Tips

• Make sure your butter is room temperature
• Don’t overwork the dough - that will create harder crispier cookies
• Measure your flour carefully - fluff and spoon out to measure
• Do not over bake the cookies - they will feel soft coming out the oven but will harden up as they cool. Baking them until too golden or hardened will yield hard crunchy cookies.
• Allow them to cool for 5 minutes in the baking sheet before rolling them in powdered sugar. You don’t want to coat them right out the oven because they will be soft and delicate and may break or fall apart - they will be too soft and too hot right out the oven and too much heat will also melt some of the powdered sugar and leave an unpleasant film of wet powder sugar on the surface of the cookies.
• Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before rolling them in powdered sugar for the second time.
  
  

Kourabiethes Storage, Make Ahead & Freezing

• STORAGE: Once the cookies are cooled and coated in confectioner’s sugar for the second time, they should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. These are good for about 10-14 days, but will last even longer in the freezer. I like to store them in my glass trifle dish which has a lid but any airtight container works. It’s a good idea to place them onto cookie liners or muffin liners so it’s easier to grab each cookie and for storing them.
• MAKE AHEAD: You can refrigerate the cookie dough for up to 24 hours, but bring it to room temperature before forming and baking the cookies.
• FREEZING:
  • If you are planning on freezing these cookies after they are baked, then you should freeze them after you’ve coated the cookies in confectioner’s sugar the FIRST time, and in a single layer on a sheet pan. Then once frozen, you can transfer the cookies into freezer bags and store them for up to 2 months in the freezer. To thaw them, leave the cookies out at room temp., and once thawed out, dust them generously in the second layer of confectioner’s sugar before serving.
  • Alternatively, you can portion the cookie dough into balls, and leave as is or shape into crescents and freeze the raw cookie dough balls or crescents instead. Again, freeze them in a single layer on a sheet pan first to flash freeze them, then transfer frozen cookie dough balls into freezer bags. And when you’re ready to bake, you can place the cookie dough balls/crescents on prepared pans and bake them straight from frozen. They may need an extra couple of minutes of baking time - monitor them closely while baking.
  • If freezing the whole portions of dough, make sure to wrap it really well and it freezes very well – up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 6.
    
    

More Greek Recipes You Will Love:

• Easy Greek Baklava
• Karithopita (Greek Walnut Cake)
• Greek Semolina Cake (Revani)
• Greek Honey Ricotta Pie (Melopita)
• Greek Style Apple Cinnamon Cake (Milopita)
• Koulourakia
• Greek Honey Walnut Cookies
• Pecan Snowball Cookies