Kourambiethes

This recipe is from episode 6 of Bakeology with International Party DJ, YO! MAFIA

These buttery, crumbly festive Greek biscuits are a textural and flavour delight. They’re made with ground and roughly chopped almonds, and the perfect amount of rose water that ever-so-gently gently lingers on your tongue before disappearing like it was never there.

Rather than recreate a classic, a dear Greek friend has passed me a recipe from their cousin who runs a bakery in Greece called Naughty Bites, and I’ve used this as the base for the recipe below. Be sure to also check out Naught Bites on Instragram @naughtybitesgr. 

Like many iconic recipes, I found so many variations while researching kourambiethes. Some were crescent shaped, some used walnuts, others featured cloves and had egg in the recipe, just to name a few. There were endless versions and I’m certain they’re all incredible.

I encourage you to see this recipe as a delicious version of a classic, rather than a recipe that looks to define the classic.

That said, the one thing I’m told that’s not negotiable is the excessive amounts of icing sugar used at the end.

Watch my how-to video on Instagram

INGREDIENTS

• 250g butter, at room temperature

• 90g icing sugar

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 3 tsp rose water

• 300g plain flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 50g almond meal

• 150g almonds, roasted, roughly chopped

• 1 pinch of sea salt flakes

To finish

• Rose water or orange blossom water to spray over the cooled kourambiethes (optional)

• Excessive amounts of icing sugar, for dusting

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 180° C.

• Place the whole almonds on a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast for 8-10 minutes. Once roasted, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and then roughly chop and set aside.

• Place the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and rose water in a large bowl and beat with hand beaters until well combined (or place in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment).

• Add the flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt and beat until mostly combined. Add the chopped roasted almonds and briefly beat to mix through.

• Abandon the hand beaters (or stand mixer) and use your hands to bring the mix together into a large dough ball.

• Line two large baking trays with baking paper.

• Scoop approximatly a tablespoon of the dough and shape into a ball and place on the tray. Use you finger to make an indent in the centre of each ball. Repeat until all the dough is used. The Kourambiethes expand a little when they bake, so leave about 3 cm between each ball.

• Place the filled trays in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to chill. This will ensure the biscuits hold their shape and don’t spread too much.

• Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the Kourambiethes look firm and set on the outside, and have the lightest possible tinge of golden colour. You want these to be as pale as they can while still being cooked through.

• Once they are baked, leave them on the tray to cool for at least 30 minutes.

• Finally, spray the cooled kourambiethes with rose or orange blossom water, and dust with excessive amounts of icing sugar.

Store in a sealed container for 5-7 days (though I’d be surprised if they go un-eaten for that long!)