Kourabiedes (kourambiethes) are one of the most delicious Greek cookies, perfect for Christmas time (to me, they look like little snowballs!). Simple butter cookies with plenty of chopped, toasted almonds in the dough are baked with a festive whole clove in the center, then piled with powdered sugar for a deliciously simple, melt-in-your-mouth, classic Greek Christmas cookie.
This is my grandmother, Aggie’s, recipe, and it’s extremely simple. Some other recipes for Kourabiedes have egg, vanilla, baking soda, and other ingredients you find commonly in cookie recipes. Some recipes also include rose water or orange blossom water.
My grandmother’s recipe is more like a shortbread, with only five ingredients – butter, powdered sugar, flour, almonds, and whole cloves. It makes for a delicious texture that’s somewhere in-between melt-in-your-mouth and satisfyingly crumbly, the warm flavor and aroma of the clove imbued throughout.
Kourabiedes are popular Greek Christmas cookies, but also are made for other festive occasions like weddings. My Aunt Viki made them for my bridal shower years ago, and as the family expert in Greek cooking and recipes passed down from my grandmother, I consulted heavily with her on this recipe.
...GET THE RECIPE for Kourabiedes (Greek Butter and Almond Cookies)!