Greek Christmas cookies – “kourabiedes”

After popular demand, here is the recipe for the cookie kourabiedes, since after the baby-friendly melomakarona, we needed to have baby-friendly kourabiedes. Initially, I had considered making mini bite-sized kourabiedes, but the little hands, who had a more active involvement in their creation, decided otherwise, and that’s how the cookie kourabiedes came about. Besides, the recipe is the same, since we’re making kourabiedes with no sugar, no eggs, that are fluffy, crunchy, and tasty, with a great smell, and without icing sugar getting everywhere in the house. And I’ll need to confess that when I was younger, I was one of the people who “dusted” their kourabiedes off, hitting it so that the icing sugar fell off, or even blowing at it. Yes, I was never a fan of it! Now, if you want, you can put some on them, but I’d suggest keeping it for yourselves and not for your kids. Additionally, I’ll be detailing some healthier alternatives to cover your kourabiedes-tasting cookies with.

Regarding sweets

Initially, before we get into the recipe. I want to remind you of my opinion about sweets. No baby needs sweets, it’s us who need them. Specifically, babies don’t know what’s sweet and what’s not unless we teach them, and they’ll not need any as long as we don’t put too much value on sweets in their eyes. So, it’s our needs and desires that come to focus. The baby-friendly version is made so that we can all eat healthier, and on the other hand, to avoid forbidding a specific food. I don’t like eating in secret from the little hands, nor do I like the phrase, “my love, this is just for the grown-ups.” I want to be happy in sharing what I like with him, just like he shares everything he likes with me. And why should you have to deal with jealousy and shouts when there are choices for tasty sweets appropriate for all ages?

What we are going to need

• Butter. I don’t use butter often, I usually prefer using substitutes, but when I do, I always choose 100% cow milk butter, and ideally, melted butter, called ghee butter, which comes in a glass vessel. I didn’t want to substitute all the butter for our kourabiedes because I wanted to maintain the buttery smell which is characteristic of them. What butter you do use should be at room temperature.
• Coconut oil. I substituted part of the butter with cold-pressed coconut oil. Don’t worry if it’s solid, it will grow warm in the mixer and will join with the butter just like we want it to.
• Almonds. Roast your almonds in a frying pan for a few minutes or in the oven for 10 minutes to improve their taste. You can use chopped almonds, too. In any case, for the recipe to remain baby friendly, you should process them in a food processor thoroughly.
• Sweetener. I used white petimezi, which I’ve written about here. Alternatively, you can use maple syrup or honey (for children over the age of one).
• Rose water. A magical ingredient, with an amazing aroma, but you’ll need to pay attention to the quantity. If you put more than you should, the smell will be very strong. But there’s no kourabiedes without rose water!
• Vinegar. I usually prefer cider vinegar in preparations like this to replace the traditional cognac and to achieve a crunchier result. But you can use anything you might have.
• Flour. I tried making cookie kourabiedes in two versions, one with all-purpose flour and one with spelt flour. In the recipe, I suggest spelt flour, since it’s more nutritious, but the choice is yours.
• Vanilla. Vanilla sticks (of course using just its seeds), tonka beans that need grating, or vanilla extract? The choice is yours here, too.
• Christmas-themed cookie cutters.

Tips

• The butter needs to be mixed well, it’s an important part of the recipe and you need to spend some time doing it.
• Temperature differs from oven to oven. Check the cooking’s progress often.
• The shape and size of your kourabiedes is your choice, but you may need to adjust cooking time.
• If you don’t have a convection oven, you can bake your cookie kourabiedes in normal heat, just bake them at +10 degrees.
• They’re extra fluffy when made in their traditional shape.

Alternative toppings

• If you like kourabiedes with icing sugar, you can use some, but it’s best not to offer it to your little kids. There’s no reason for them to eat this much sugar, nor for you to be cleaning sugar off the floor for the next 10 days.
• A good alternative might be chocolate icing. You’ll find some ideas here, here, and here.
• There are more suggestions for icing sugar alternatives, like almond powder, shredded coconut, or lucuma powder. Finally, you can also make your own icing sugar using coconut sugar, a process I detail here.

How the little hands can help

• By putting the ingredients in the mixer.
• By mixing the ingredients with their little hands.
• By choosing cookie cutters and cutting their cookie kourabiedes in the shapes they like.

Do you want more festive recipes?

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