Kourabiethes (Κουραμπιέδες)

Justine from A Half Baked Life and Ants from Making Baby Giraffes have both inspired me to post a delicious recipe that I would like to share. As it's the festive season, these Greek icing sugar biscuits are amazingly light to the stomach and are also a comfort food. These biscuits are a tradional and integral contribution on dining tables and gift giving in Greece during Christmas. The icing on top reminds me of snow.

An Australian Christmas I have experienced with my husbands family include: beer, seafood, pudding and a day at the beach. A Greek Australian Christmas usually consists of: beer, lamb on a spit,  kourabiethes and a relatives backyard.

These biscuits are also a reminder during my IF journey. Every time I called my mum up to tell her the disappointing news of a failed IVF cycle, she would be there in a heartbeat with a container full of kourabiethes. Up until that time it was all about healthy eating, no coffee and exercise. I needed the indulgement.

Comfort my my aching soul.

Ingredients
(makes around 40)


• 250g butter, softened

• 2 1/2 cups pure icing sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 orange, rind finely grated

• 1 egg, at room temperature

• 2 1/2 cups plain flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 cup almond meal (ground almonds)

Method


1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 2 flat baking trays with baking paper.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, 1 cup icing sugar, vanilla and orange rind until pale and creamy. Add egg and beat until well combined. Sift flour and baking powder over mixture. Add almond meal. Stir until dough comes together.

3. Using 1 tablespoon dough per biscuit, roll out into 8cm-long sausage shapes. Bend to form crescent shapes. Place on baking trays, allowing room for spreading. Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden. Stand for 5 minutes on trays until firm.

4. Place remaining sugar in a bowl. Coat warm biscuits, 1 at a time, in sugar. Place on a wire rack to cool. Sift any remaining icing sugar over biscuits when cool.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

MAY ALL YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS COME TRUE.

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