Kourabiedes

Kourabiedes

Kourabiedes (plural; Greek κουραμπιέδες , kourabiédes ; masculine singular: κουραμπιές, kourabiés ) are a Greek Christmas cookie that is roughly similar to the vanilla croissants . They are made from a crumbly dough using flour, butter, egg yolk, sugar, almonds and flavorings (including vanilla).

The Kourabiedes traditionally come from Cappadocia , where they were prepared by local Greeks as Christmas cookies. It wasn't until the early 20th century that refugees brought them to Greece. The name Kourabiés comes from the Turkish kurabiye (from Arabic غرّيبة, ghurayba ) but originally only refers to cookies in general.

The dough is shaped into biscuits or croissants (often with a whole almond in the middle), baked and turned in powdered sugar while it is still hot before the pastry cools.

In addition to the melomakarona , the kourabiedes are traditional Christmas cookies in Greece. However, these are available in pastry shops all year round.