Kourabiedes, as most of you, who follow my blog, must know by now, are the Greek shortbread cookies which are coated with icing sugar. I have been making kourabiedes for many years and a very significant factor to have tasty kourabiedes lies mainly in the quality of butter used.
This year I made them with a butter I never used before and quite frankly I was really afraid what the outcome would be. I asked my husband to bring sheep’s butter and instead he brought a Cretan butter called Stakovoutyro, made of sheep’s and goat milk. Staka is the fresh cream skimmed off the top of milk and Stakovoutyro is a the buttercream (like clotted cream) made by cooking staka. I know that all Cretan products are delicious but I didn’t know if I could use this butter to make kourabiedes. On the back of the jar it said suitable for cooking and for desserts, so I risked making them and the result was fabulous.
This year I flavoured them with mastic liqueur and vanilla which gave them a wonderful flavour. They were perfect in taste and each bite they melt in your mouth, making you want to eat more and more.
Kourabiedes with Stakovoutyro, Recipe by Ivy
Makes: About 40
Ingredients:
- 375 grams stakovoutyro, at room temperature
- 125 grams blanched and roasted almonds
- 125 grams icing sugar
- 680 grams all purpose flour
- 30 grams mastic liqueur
- ½tsp vanilla essence
- 500 grams icing sugar, for coating
Directions
- Blanche and roast the almonds in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool and then coarsely cut in a food processor.
- Sieve the flour and the first amount of icing sugar, separately.
Beat the butter with the icing sugar at high speed until it becomes white and fluffy. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix.- Stop the mixer and add two thirds of the flour. Gently mix by hand adding the almonds. Continue adding the flour gradually until the dough is soft but not sticky on the hands.
- Remove the dough on a non stick working surface or add parchment paper and flatten the dough about 1 cm. Cut with a cookie cutter and place on a baking tin lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for about 20 – 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and turn them upside down. Using a sieve, sprinkle some icing sugar and then turn them again. Continue sieving until they are coated and then place them in a platter. The icing sugar used may be used again.
This recipe also goes to Rosa, of Rosa’s Yummy Yums, for her even Pastries For Peace.
This recipe also goes to Susan of Food Blogga for her event Eat Christmas Cookies, Season 3
Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to you all!!
This recipe goes to Cinzia of Cindystar, for her event Baking under the Christmas Tree.
Other relevant recipes:
Amygdalota with White Chocolate
Kourabiedes, Cypriot recipe and stuffed with dates
Christopsomo (Christmas Bread)
Tags: Christmas, cookies and biscuits, kourabiedes, stakovoutyro
December 14th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
They look delightful! Nice tree and decorations!
Cheers,
Rosa
December 14th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Cookies look beautifully baked. Right in time for the festive season.
December 15th, 2009 at 1:51 am
These are so pretty Ivy! And I bet they are just heavenly tasting!
December 15th, 2009 at 3:53 am
Wow..first time I made Kourabiedes was 5 years ago??? My family loves them so much as they never ate Greek version. In my country, the Malays will made something similar called Kuih Makmur with pounded peanuts & sugar inside, then moulded into any shapes you want but most of the time, it's rounded or oval shaped.
You can compared the recipe with Kourabiedes ..it's quite similar! 
December 15th, 2009 at 5:05 am
Wow, your kourabiedes look phenomenal. I am definitely making these. Great idea of making them with a cookie cutter.
December 15th, 2009 at 5:18 am
I have silently been reading your beautiful blog for a while and would like to thank you for all these lovely recipes you are sharing with us! I love Greek food and have made several of your recipes which were fantastic. I am definitely making these.
December 15th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I love these and the addition of the mastic liquor sounds lovely.
Just in case you haven't heard, your photos are enticing!! Have a great day Ivy
December 15th, 2009 at 10:34 am
These look lovely Ivy, and your angel is so pretty.
December 15th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
O your tree looks lovely Ivy … makes me miss Christmas back home … not the same at all here! The cookies look great … I am sure taste great too! I think I will do this one with my daughter tis the season for cookies of course! Merry Christmas!
December 15th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Je vais tester tous tes gâteaux de Noël. Ils me plaisent tous.
A bientôt.
December 15th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I love the first picture, so Christmasy! I love the twist you gave these cookies this time. I need to start baking my cookies soon.
December 15th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Love the idea it is fully covered with icing suagr which gives a real christmas feeling to it.
They are so beautiful.
I have never know you could have butter mixed with sheeps milk and goats milk.
December 15th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Thanks everybody for the lovely comments. I've been very busy these days (like everybody else) and have only some hours in evening to post and hope to be visiting all of you soon.
December 15th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Those cookies look wonderful!!!Great pictures.
December 15th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
That's a beautiful first photo! You should make it your Christmas card.
December 15th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Cool….I made some star cookies last year….maybe I should make some for this x'mas too! And you have a very beautiful x'mas tree.
December 15th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Ivy, your home looks so warm and inviting. And I love those cookies!
December 15th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Isn't it nice when a product we've never tried before manages to please us beyond expectation? The cookies are lovely, in their star shape.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I love kourambiedes! I decided not to make them myself this year (there will be plenty when I visit family of course) but i agree the quality of butter makes a big difference. Glad your results were great, and I love your stars!
December 16th, 2009 at 2:11 am
How fun and festive! Love the decorations!
December 16th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Stakovoutyro is a wonderful butter! Women in Creatan villages make their kourambiedes with a combination of stakovoutyro and olive oil making the dough crunchy.
December 16th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
When made well, Kourabiedes cannot be beat and with all that butter…they last a long time! Happy baking.
December 17th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
These remind me of our ghraybeh (even the name sounds similar) which are shortbread cookies. I like the addition of mastic liqueur especially. Here we use the mastic pebbles ground with a pinch of sugar, I had no idea you could get this liqueur!
December 21st, 2009 at 5:01 am
with the exception of the mastic liqueur, these are exactly the way my yiayia taught my father to make kourabeides so that he could teach my mother and me. I have tried variations over the years, but this simple recipe is always always the best. And I love the star shape! Cookie cutters — what a great idea!