These Greek almond cookies (or Kourabiedes) are a traditional butter cookie that is crunchy, crumbly, and super tasty! They are loaded with a sweet almond flavor, packed with slivered almonds, and then generously dusted with powdered sugar! Kourabiedes are typically reserved for special occasions, but they are so delicious that you'll want to make them all year!
Kourabiedes Greek Almond Butter Cookies
Greek Kourabiedes are butter cookies packed with slivered almonds and a wonderfully crumbly texture! It is somewhat similar to shortbread but is much more crumbly (and always includes some type of liquor).
This cookie has different variations, with some shaped as crescents and some more round. Either way, they are a tasty treat that isn't too sweet!
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🥘 Greek Almond Cookies Ingredients
Kourabiedes are a crumbly cookie that uses a lot of butter and minimal sugar. The cookies are meant to be served generously coated in powdered sugar for extra sweetness.
- Butter - 1 cup (or 2 sticks, 16 tablespoons) of unsalted butter. You'll want it to be at room temperature, find out how to soften your butter here.
- Confectioners' Sugar - ½ cup of powdered sugar (also called confectioners' sugar), plus some more for dusting the cookies.
- Egg Yolks - 2 large egg yolks, room temperature.
- Brandy - 1 tablespoon of brandy. You can use any brandy you like, but authentic Greek brandy would be ideal!
- Rose Water - 1 tablespoon of rose water. You can find this online, in grocery stores, or make your own at home! Check out my DIY rose water recipe.
- Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Almond Extract - ½ teaspoon of almond extract.
- Baking Powder - ½ teaspoon of baking powder.
- Salt - ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Flour - 3 cups of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled.
- Almonds - 1¼ cups of slivered almonds.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Greek Almond Cookies
Making Kourabiedes is super simple, but it does require some time mixing (so I recommend using a stand mixer)! You'll need your baking sheet, an electric mixer, a silicone spatula, your measuring spoons, and a flour duster to sprinkle the powdered sugar over the cookies!
When finished, you will have about 2 dozen cookies, which will create a beautiful cookie pyramid for serving!
Prepare the Cookie Dough
- Preheat. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together 1 cup of room-temperature butter and ½ cup of powdered sugar until fluffy and light in color, about 5 minutes. Add 2 large egg yolks and beat for another 5 minutes.
- Add remaining wet ingredients. Use a silicone spatula to scrape down the bowl. Then, add 1 tablespoon of both brandy and rose water, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and ½ teaspoon each of almond extract, baking powder, and salt, and beat well until thoroughly combined.
- Incorporate the flour. Slowly add 3 cups of all-purpose flour into the wet dough, about 1 cup at a time. Mix in between each addition only until the flour is incorporated. Once the flour has been mixed into the dough, stir in 1¼ cups of slivered almonds.
Roll & Bake the Kourabiedes
- Roll. Roll the dough into balls that are about 1 inch in size. Use your hands to slightly flatten them, and then add a small indention in the center of the cookie with your thumb. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving approximately 2 inches of space between them.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 15-18 minutes or until slightly golden.
- Serve. Remove the baked cookies from the oven. Dust a serving platter with more confectioners' sugar and place a single layer of the still-warm cookies on top. Lightly spritz them with water infused with a touch of rose water, if desired, and generously dust them with more confectioners' sugar. Add another layer of cookies and repeat the process until you have a full pyramid of cookies. *This is a traditional yet optional method of displaying the cookies.
While these cookies are traditionally served for Christmas, I'm sure everyone will love them no matter the time of year! Check out my Greek pasta salad and Greek chicken marinade for more Greek-inspired recipes! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Displaying the cookies in a pyramid is the traditional way to serve them. However, you could also dust the cookies with powdered sugar and serve them how you like!
- You can purchase rosewater or easily make your own at home! However, if you don't want to, swap it out for plain water in the recipe.
- For a truly authentic Greek almond cookie, use Greek brandy (such as Metaxa, Tsilili, or Alexandrion are some of my favorite brands). Of course, you can also use any brandy you prefer!
- I recommend toasting your slivered almonds (or buying them toasted) for some extra flavor!
🥡 Storing
Keep your Kourabiedes cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
The name kourabiedes is derived from the Turkish word kurabiye. In Turkish, the root word 'kuru' means dry while the root 'biye' means biscuit! Essentially, kourabiedes means 'dry biscuit' which sounds about right!
While they are known to be a cookie, the makeup of this tasty treat is much more closely related to shortbread. It contains butter, flour, brandy, almonds, and powdered sugar.
These yummy cookies have a buttery and almond flavor. The consistency is very crumbly with a crunchy exterior. Finally, they are dusted with a ton of powdered sugar to add an extra element of sweetness!
🍪 Delicious Homemade Cookie Recipes
- Amaretti Cookies - Delicious almond cookies that are naturally gluten-free!
- Mexican Wedding Cookies - Classic Mexican cookies that are loaded with walnuts and rolled in powdered sugar!
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - Sweet and chewy cookies that are packed with tons of raisins!
- Dark Chocolate Cookies - Incredibly rich and indulgent chocolate cookies that also contain dark chocolate chips!
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies - Traditional chocolate chip cookies that are now gluten-free!
- Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies - Sweet cookies are full of both chocolate chips and maraschino cherries!
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📖 Recipe Card
Greek Almond Cookies (Kourabiedes)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (unsalted, softened, at room temperature - 2 sticks, 16 tablespoons, or 8 ounces per batch)
- ½ cup confectioners sugar (plus more for dusting)
- 2 large egg yolks (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon brandy
- 1 tablespoon rose water (see recipe)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1¼ cups slivered almonds
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together the room-temperature butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks and beat for another 5 minutes.
- Use a silicone spatula to scrape down the bowl. Then, add in the brandy, rose water, vanilla extract, almond extract, baking powder, and salt, and beat well until thoroughly combined.
- Slowly add the all-purpose flour into the wet dough, about 1 cup at a time. Mix in between each addition only until the flour is incorporated. Once all of the flour has been mixed into the dough, stir in the slivered almonds.
- Roll the dough into balls that are about 1 inch in size. Use your hands to slightly flatten them and then add a small indention in the center of the cookie with your thumb. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving approximately 2 inches of space in between them.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 15-18 minutes, or until slightly golden in color.
- Remove the baked cookies from the oven. Dust a serving platter with more confectioners' sugar and place a single layer of the still-warm cookies on top. Lightly spritz them with some water infused with a touch of rose water, if desired, and generously dust them with more confectioners' sugar. Add another layer of cookies and repeat the process until you have a full pyramid of cookies. *This is a traditional, yet optional, method of displaying the cookies.
Notes
- Displaying the cookies in a pyramid is the traditional way to serve them. However, you could also dust the cookies with powdered sugar and serve them how you like!
- You can purchase rosewater or easily make your own at home! However, if you don't want to, swap it out for plain water in the recipe.
- For a truly authentic Greek almond cookie, use Greek brandy (such as Metaxa, Tsilili, or Alexandrion are some of my favorite brands). Of course, you can also use any brandy you prefer!
- I recommend toasting your slivered almonds (or buying them toasted) for some extra flavor!
- To store: Keep your Kourabiedes cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
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