Kourabiedes – Greek Christmas Butter Cookies with Almonds

Ingredients:

Preparation mode:

👉 Kourabiedes are the snow-white butter cookies that fill every Greek home at Christmas. They are short and crumbly, full of toasted almonds and buried under a thick blanket of powdered sugar – so much that it is a family joke who ends up with sugar on their clothes. Greeks bake them by the tray in December, often with a splash of brandy or ouzo, and serve them to every guest through the holidays together with honey-soaked melomakarona.

How to Make Kourabiedes

1. Toast the almonds. Toast the almonds in a dry pan for 4–5 minutes until fragrant, let them cool and chop roughly.
2. Beat the butter. Beat the very soft butter with the 60 g of powdered sugar for 8–10 minutes until almost white and fluffy – this is the secret of the texture.
3. Add the flavours. Beat in the egg yolk, brandy and vanilla, then stir in the almonds.
4. Add the flour. Mix the flour with the baking powder and add it little by little until you have a soft dough that no longer sticks to your hands.
5. Shape. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Shape walnut-sized balls or small crescents and place them on a tray lined with baking paper.
6. Bake. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the bottoms are light golden but the tops stay pale.
7. Coat in sugar. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then roll them generously in powdered sugar. When completely cool, dust them again so they look snow-covered.

Tips for the Best Kourabiedes

• The butter must be very soft and beaten for a long time – that makes kourabiedes melt in your mouth.
• Don’t overbake: kourabiedes should stay pale on top.
• Sugar the cookies while they are still slightly warm so the first layer sticks.

FAQ

What are kourabiedes?
Kourabiedes are traditional Greek Christmas butter cookies with toasted almonds, coated in powdered sugar.

Why are my kourabiedes hard?
Usually the butter was not beaten long enough or too much flour was added. The dough should be soft.

What is the difference between kourabiedes and melomakarona?
Kourabiedes are butter-almond cookies covered in powdered sugar, while melomakarona are spiced olive-oil cookies soaked in honey syrup with walnuts.

👉 More Christmas baking: French bûche de Noël, Polish makowiec and Georgian gozinaki. Read about German Christmas cookies in German Christmas food and the full list in Christmas foods around the world.

Footnotes:

Kourabiedes keep 2–3 weeks in an airtight tin – make them early in December.
No brandy? Use orange juice or a little extra vanilla. Some families add a few drops of rose water or mastiha instead.