Christmas is nearly here and in Greece melomakarona and kourabiedes are the most popular among the sweets. It’s impossible for us to image Christmas without them. In a few days the platters will be full of them and the bakeries and confectioneries will have piles of them for those who do not have the time to prepare their own.
This recipe which is the first recipe I have made kourapiedes, is made with spry shortening, well known in Cyprus but unknown in Greece. I had to adopt the Greek version which is with milk butter.
In October when I visited Cyprus during my last minute shopping I remembered to buy some spry but unfortunately I was unlucky because the supermarket was out of stock.
I tried to find information about spry in the internet and the only thing which was worth showing you is this.
I usually make two kinds of kourabiedes. The first one is the traditional one and the other is with dates, almonds and spices. If you want to try both, just keep half the dough without the almonds and follow the steps given at the end.
Kourabiedes, Cypriot Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tin of spry or ½ kilo milk sheep’s butter
- 2 tablespoons of orange juice
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/2 cup of brandy
- 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar
- 7 – 8 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking power
- 2 cups of blanched and roasted almonds, cut in small pieces
- 1 teaspoon of soda
- Extra confectioners’ sugar for coating
- Blossom or rose water
Directions
Beat the butter with sugar at high speed. Reduce speed and add egg yolks one at a time, until mixture is light and fluffy.
Dissolve soda with brandy and orange juice and add to mixture. Beat for 2 – 3 minutes. Add vanilla.
Mix flour with baking powder. Change the mixer paddle to the one for dough or start kneading by hand and add flour gradually. When the dough is ready, should be as if it needs more flour but should not be sticky on your hands. Add the almonds and mix.
Take a small amount of dough and shape them round, oval or crescent shaped. Place in a buttered tin or lined with parchment paper and preheat oven to 180 degrees C and bake for about 30 minutes. Allow them to cool on a wire rack.
As soon as they are ready, spray or sprinkle some rose water on them and then sieve the confectioners’ sugar on both sides and place in parchment paper and let them cool. Then transfer into a platter, sprinkling some extra sugar on top.
Kourabiedes, stuffed with dates and almonds
Make one dosage of traditional kourapiedes dough (without adding the almonds in the dough).
Ingredients for filling:
- ½ kilo of dates, stoned and finely chopped
- 1- 1 ½ cups of almonds finely chopped and roasted
- 4 – 5 tablespoons of sugar
- ¼ tablespoon of ground cloves
- ½ tablespoon of cinnamon
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons of rose water
Directions:
Place butter dates, almonds, sugar, cinnamon and cloves in a small pan and put over moderate heat until butter melts. Lower heat and continue stirring until the mixture softens and mixes. Add rose water and stir two or three times. Place mixture in bowl and let it cool down. Meantime prepare the dough as given for the traditional kourabiedes. Take a small amount of dough and flatten it with your hands. Place a small amount of filling and fold to cover filling. Shape as you like and proceed with procedure given in the other recipe.
Tags: Christmas, cookies and biscuits, kourabiedes, Traditional
The Kourabiedes look real good and I’ve never had the stuffed ones…they sound tasty.
I really don’t understand how some Greeks will buy a box of Kourabiedes from a bakery for 20 euros when they are so easy to make.
I don’t either. Most women find as an excuse that they work and they have no time, but I think that if you like doing something you find time for it. I have been working since I graduated high school and always found time.
Nice looking cookies, Ivy! As for baking, at least in the village where our house is, the really is not much of a culture of baking. I think it is because until recently, people used the village oven or an outside wood burning oven, neither of which are particularly conducive to baking cookies. I bake a lot when we’re in the village, and this is unusual enough that I get lots of comments about it.
As for Spry, at least in the United States, Spry and Crisco were pretty much the same thing: solid white vegetable shortening. It seems like I’ve seen cans of Crisco in Athens, but now that I’m thinking about it, I can’t say for sure. I agree white shortening makes good Christmas cookies — I make some every year, they are called Angel Cookies, and they are very very good. I particularly like them with cashews.
On the other hand, Kourambiedes I’ve only made with fresh butter (from cows). They’re good too!! (And Peter, you’re right, they’re very easy and much better than what you can buy at the bakery).
[...] In Cyprus during Christmas they make the same kourabiedes as in Greece only we wet them with rose or blossom water before coating them with confectioners’ sugar. These, however, are also our traditional wedding cakes, called Loukoumia tou Gamou. They are much bigger than kourabiedes and are made with 1/3 flour and 2/3 semolina and are filled with a filling with roasted almonds, sugar, cinnamon and rose/blossom water and many times they are also filled with pistachios. I got the idea of making my kourabiedes from this Cypriot tradition and Loukoumia tou Gamou are in my future plans to recreate them. I have made kourabiedes quite differnt this year and mixed in pistachios. However, we also love kourabies with almonds so I made half of them with roasted almonds and both turned out fantastic. If you want a more traditional recipe, see my last year’s post here. [...]
thanks Ivy on enlightening me about the wedding cakes version..i had no idea they use semolina in it..what kind? super fine or more coarse? i will try it for sure!!!! thanks
[...] Kourabiedes, Cypriot recipe and stuffed with dates [...]