kourabiethes

Kourabiethes would have to be the staple sweet of any Greek Christmas, Easter, Birthday, Name Day... actually, any day is a good excuse to indulge in these sweet treats! But like most European families, there is always a recipe that eludes the younger generation, and this is one of them! 

Be foolish enough to ask the older women in the family for their recipe and surely you'll get the evil eye. Everyone knows these recipes, which have taken decades to perfect, are never to be shared and will surely go to the grave with these women! Or you may feel fortunate enough to come across a Greek woman who offers her recipe... but beware! The recipe will always have something missing... usually the most critical ingredient! My grandmother will lovingly demonstrate her recipes but when you turn your back, she'll be hiding behind the cupboard adding her secret ingredient to the mix!

So with many failed attempts using many *altered* family recipes, I realised desperate times call for desperate measures! It was time to throw icing sugar to the wind, ad lib and trust my baking instincts... and what do you know? They turned out to be pretty darn delicious! 

Now here's the dilemma... every time there's a function, I'm asked to make kourabiethes. I rarely get the opportunity to make something different and I'm getting bored! So I'm going to break the Greek chain and public expose my recipe! Tag, you're it! You have the recipe now, so I can make something different for the next function!

But seriously, try these for yourself. They're super indulgent, so not an everyday food, but definitely worth the effort and the calories!

500 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons caster sugar
25 grams vanilla sugar
2 cups sifted plain flour
2 cups sifted self raising flour
1.5 cups almonds (crushed in a food processer)
1 tablespoon ouzo (optional)

a whole heap of icing sugar!  

Preheat your oven to 170-180 degrees (depending on how strong your oven is!). Using an electric mixer, cream the butter then add the egg yolks, caster sugar and vanilla sugar. Now, using your hands, mix in the almonds, ouzo and 1/2 cup of each flour. Work the mix, while continuing to add the flours, 1/2 cup at a time. If you need more flour, add plain flour only. What you should end up with is a sticky dough that is too sticky to roll but not so sticky that it sticks to your hands.

Roll your kourabiethes into balls and crescent shapes and place them on lightly greased non stick baking trays.

Place the trays in the oven and bake for around 25 minutes. Now, I say 'around' because I've baked these in 3 different ovens and each time, they've baked for different times depending on the strength of the ovens. I would keep a watch on the kourabiethes from 20 minutes onwards and take them out as soon as they have changed color (but not browned!) and appear cooked. They will seem tacky, even soft, to the touch. If your kourabiethes have cracked, don't panic because the icing sugar will hide all of your baking fau pas! When cool, sift a ridiculous amount of icing sugar onto the kourabiethes. This is a crucial step... don't omit or go stingy on the icing sugar!

So the kourabiethes are ready to eat... Greek tradition dictates these delectable treats crumble with every bite and leave a conspicuous trail of icing sugar on your shirt! Enjoy!

Michelle xx