Best Ouzo Rose Water Kourambiethes Recipes

OUZO & ROSE WATER KOURAMBIETHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F (330F for convection ovens). Beat/whip one stick of butter in an electric mixer until fluffy.
• While the butter is being whipped in the mixer, dry roast a generous half cup of slivered almonds in a pan until they come fragrant. Remove from heat. Place the toasted almond slivers into a food processor and process until they are nearly a flour. (Stop just before you reach flour consistency as the heat will cause the oils in the almond 'flour' to coalesce, which you want to avoid. A course flour is the proper point at which to to stop blending.) Place almond flour in a bowl.
• Add 1/4 cup sugar to whipped butter and continue to mix. Add remaining ingredients: 2 egg whites (or 4 tsps of dry egg white + 1/4 cup water), 1 tsp baking powder, 3 tsp ouzo, 3 tsp rose water, dash of vanila extract, 2 cups flour, and almond 'flour.'.
• The result should be just thick enough to handle with your hands after dashing a large spoonful of the mixture with a little flour. Form into a rough ball and flatten just slightly. (If the consistency isn't right, go back and add a little flour or water to the cookie dough if necessary to achieve desired consistency.) Repeat with each cookie, adding cookies to oiled/buttered cookie sheet. The mixture should make about 12 medium to large sized cookies.
• Bake for 15 mins or until the cookies begin forming a slightly golden exterior. After removing from oven, sprinkle with a little (okay, a lot of) powdered sugar.

KOURAMBIETHES

Steps:

• Mix sugar, Crisco & butter until fluffy. Add eggs & beat well. Mix baking soda with lemon juice in a glass (it will fizz) & pour into mixture.
• Add ouzo & mix. Add baking powder to flour & add flour gradually to the mixture. Mix in almonds.
• Use cookie cutters or shape into circles & crescents.
• Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes until light brown.
• Remove & cool. Sprinkle with powder sugar by layering bottom of pan with sifted powdered sugar. Place cookies in pan & sift more sugar on top.

KOURAMBIETHES

Steps:

• Cream butter & icing sugar until light.
• Add egg yolk and brandy, mixing well.
• Fold in almonds, flour, baking powder & cloves.
• Break off small pieces of dough & shape into 'S' shapes or crescents.
• Bake at 180 deg C for +/- 20 min until lightly golden.
• Let them cool for 10 min, then dust with some icing sugar.
• Store in container & dust with rest of icing sugar.
• Tip: Seal & store for 2 days (if you can resist!) as this improves the flavour.

KOURAMBIEDES (A GREEK CHRISTMAS COOKIE)

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer for 15 minutes, until it begins to turn white. Mix in the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add the egg yolks, the brandy, vanilla extract, and gradually add the flour, until you have a dough that is neither too soft nor too firm (you may need to add slightly more than the amount I've written); stir in the almonds.
• Let the dough stand for an hour at room temperature, covered with a clean dish towel.
• Next, with small amounts (about 1 1/2 teaspoons of dough), shape small rounds by gently rolling the dough around between the palms of your hands.
• Arrange the round cookies on a buttered pan and flatten ever so slightly on top with your hand.
• Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes.
• Immediately upon removing the kourambiedes from the oven, sprinkle them with rose water (or orange water or ouzo. I do this by putting a small amount of the liquid in a bowl, wetting my fingertips, and shaking the droplets over the hot cookies a few times. The scented water or ouzo gives the cookies a very delicate fragrance).
• Roll the hot cookies in icing sugar to cover and let cool.
• When cool, arrange on a pretty holiday platter, sieving more icing sugar between the cookie layers to give a snowdrift effect.