Day 51: Kourambiethes, Κουραμπιέδες, Greek Butter Cookies

Kourambiethes (pronounced koo-rum-byeh-dthess) are a traditional cookie for Christmas and Pascha, as well as other celebrations, but best known for Pascha.  In fact, they are the complete opposite of anything related to fasting with the main ingredient being butter and the next one is egg.  So having them for Pascha is a real celebration of breaking the fast, and they leave a lasting impression in your mouth that you don't want anything else after.  Regardless of when you eat these delightful treats, whatever you are celebrating, they are melt-in-your-mouth piles of scrumptiousness!


So many people will claim that their kourambiethes are "the best," or a certain bakery makes "the best" in town.  But, we know that it just depends on what you like.  For example, many recipes that we know call for shortening.  Personally, I don't like the aftertaste that shortening leaves in my mouth, so I would probably not like those kourambiethes.  Other recipes call for crushed almonds, which makes it more like an Italian wedding cookie, Russian tea cake, Mexican wedding cookie, or Linzer cookie.  The recipe that we are using today is straight butter, sugar, egg, flour, and flavourings.


Often, there is a trick or two that makes a recipe work well, and if you know it, you will succeed each time you make that food.  If you don't know the secret, then, you have a road of trial and error that could lead to disappointment and a not so tasty product.  With kourambiethes, there are two tricks to know.  First, use unsalted butter.  It is a simple rule to follow, but some people will not care whether there is salt or not in the butter, since typically it is a minimal amount of salt.  But, it does make a difference, especially in this recipe!  You can read more about why unsalted butter here.  


The second rule to follow is this:  Whip the butter until it is completely white.  This makes a difference in the end product-- the lightness of the cookie (density), and the overall texture.  The longer you whip the butter, the lighter (less dense) the cookie will be.  And, the melt-in-your-mouth texture that you want will be there, even if you add too much flour and the cookies are dry.  The air from whipping really makes a diffference in kourambiethes.


Let's look at what do we need in order to make these kourambiethes.  In order to make about 3 dozen (amount changes with the size of the cookies), you will need:

Left to right: icing sugar, butter, flour, vanilla, Metaxa brandy, baking powder, cloves, egg yolk.

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup icing sugar, plus enough for coating the cookies at the end
1 egg yolk
2 TBSP brandy or Cognac (Metaxa)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
36 cloves


The ingredient list is short, and looks like a typical butter cookie to most, but it is all in how the dough is made that makes kourambiethes special.  

Whip the butter.

See how white and fluffy the butter becomes?

First, whip the butter until it is completely white (see rules above).  We started with room temperature butter, which makes this process much easier and much shorter.  If you are using store-bought whipped butter, then your time to whip the butter to white will be even shorter.

Add the icing sugar.

Add 1/2 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar, confectioner's sugar) to the butter, and combine well.  

Incorporate the egg yolk.

Add vanilla, 

Add the brandy (or the Metaxa in this case)

Add the egg yolk, the vanilla, and the brandy.  This is the point when you want to change your mixer attachment from the whisk to the paddle.  If you are using a hand-held mixer, then don't worry a bout switching attachments.  But, the paddle will be a better choice for the next couple of steps.  Let this blend on low speed while you prepare the next steps.

Add the baking powder to the flour.

Mix the baking powder and flour as if you were making scrambled eggs -- to incorporate air.

Now, in a different bowl, sift together the baking powder with the flour.  You can do this with a sifter, or if you don't have one, then use a fork to fluff the flour for a minute, as if you were scrambling an egg.  

Now, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Keep the mixer on a lower speed for less mess.

See the dough start to come together.

Then, once the flour and baking powder are combined, slowly add that to the  butter mixture in the mixer.  After adding about one-third of the flour mixture, you may find it easier to work with a flat paddle on the mixer instead of a whisk.  Change attachments before adding all of the flour.  Keep the speed lower rather than higher, so that you can more closely monitor how stiff the dough is becoming and prevent making a big flour mess in the kitchen.  

Notice how the dough is moist, holds shape, and does not stick to the hand.

You want the dough to be firm enough to hold together without sticking to your hands, and moist enough to fold and roll into  shape easily.  The dough should look a little shiny and moist when you hold it.  And, when you roll it around in your hands, the dough will easily roll without sticking, and it will make your hands feel very smooth and moisturized.  If it sticks to you or to the countertop, then sprinkle a little flour on the dough and knead it in by hand.  Add very little each time so not to make a dry, crumbly dough.  Experience is really the only thing that will make you understand exactly how the dough should be.  


Now that you have the dough in your hands or on the countertop, you should be ready to shape the kourambiethes.  

Cut even slices in the dough log.

First, roll long tubes or cylinders of the dough, so you have an even thickness all the way through.  Then, using a bench knife or a knife, cut discs even in thickness.  This will help you have uniform cookies in the end.  

Roll each cut slice into a ball shape.  This is the start of every shape you may make.

Take each disc and roll it into a ball.  You can see that all of the balls are really close to the same size.  From this ball shape, you can shape the kourambiethes to whatever shape you like.   Some of the traditional shapes are:

Flattened Ball -- groove on top

The Flattened Ball
Put two fingers next to each other, as if giving "Scout's Honour"  Press down on the top of the ball gently with your two fingers to create a small ridge on the top of the ball.

Pear Shape - pinch the top...

flatten the bottom.

The Pear Shape
Pinch one side of the ball to make the thinner end.  Press the bottom, wider section as if you were making the flattened ball.

Crescent shape- pinch both ends and fold.

The Crescent Shape
Roll the ball into a log that is thick in the middle.  Pinch both ends of the log, and bend the cookie a little bit in the middle to create the crescent shape.

"S" shape - roll into a log, 

bend both ends in opposite directions, 

and make an "S" for super cookie!

The "S"-shape
Roll the ball into a log that is even in thickness for the entire length.  Bend the top third of the log to the right, and bend the bottom third of the log to the left to create an "S" shape.

Insert cloves in the various shapes.

Not all shapes are appropriate for cloves -- you decide.

Use a clove in each cookie, if the shape allows.  This means that you have to decide if a clove would look good in that shape of kourambiethes.  For the flattened ball shapes, put the clove in the center of the top.  For the pear shapes, use the cloves as the stems of the pears.  And, it will be your choice to use them on the "s" shapes or the crescent shapes.

Baked until just golden on the edges.

Once you have formed all the cookies, bake them at 350 F until they are just golden -- you don't want too much colour on the cookies!  This should take about 10 minutes.  Once the edges start to brown, check the bottoms to see if the cookies slide around on the baking pan (or parchment paper).  If they slide around freely, then take them out of the oven.  If not, then leave them for intervals of 2 minutes until they are done.  

Powdered sugar in a sieve (sifter), on a cooling rack for when the cookies come out of the oven.

While the cookies are baking, get your sifter (sieve) ready and filled with powdered/icing/confectioner's sugar to sift over the cookies.

Transfer the hot cookies to the cooling rack.

When the cookies are baked, use a spatula and place on a cooling rack.  

Sift powdered sugar (icing sugar) over the hot cookies.

The cookies get covered with icing sugar.

Now, kourambiethes are becoming white and powdery with sugar.

Immediately sift the icing sugar over the hot cookies.  Allow this to sit for a minute, then, sift another layer of sugar over the kourambiethes.  You can see the lovely snowy effect build on top of each cookie.  Let the kourambiethes cool completely on the rack before trying to move them.  


Remember, you can put  these in the paper cups to make it easier to pick up a cookie to taste!  These will keep at room temperature for a while if kept in an air-tight container.  We have left them on the table for a week, and they taste better every day.  If you are going to move the container a lot, then, make sure to have extra icing sugar with you to "freshen" the look of the kourambiethes.  


Arrange the cookies on a plate and serve as dessert, as an afternoon snack, or just because you can.  Remember, we are still fasting!  We have to wait until Sunday (after Church on Saturday night)  before we can taste!  A few more days and we will celebrate The Resurrection with our homemade kourambiethes!

Today is Holy Monday. Yesterday we shared with you the "Hymn of the Bridegroom" featuring the Greek vocalist Glykeria.  Below is the same hymn, also in Greek, led by Panos Kabarnos.  Please note the English subtitles which are invaluable to those who do not know Greek (yet).



(Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-YWb9YtCoE&feature=related)