Almond & Butter Cookies | Chefs At Heart

Written by on in baby | toddler friendly, Baking, cookies, Recipes&More, vegetarian, prep around 60 min
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Warning: if you like fluffy & buttery cookies, you are going to fell in love with this recipe…

Try these Almond & Butter cookies that are with fluffy, aromatic, nutty, flavoursome and really easy to make.

The main players of these recipe are

  • Almonds, which are loaded with rich natural nutrients such as minerals and vitamins
  • Butter, which is loaded with deliciousness
  • Greek Ouzo, which is full of aroma and exclusive sophisticated flavour that resembles aniseed
  • Mastic [Μαστιχα], which is full of aroma and exclusive sophisticated flavour that resembles pine, if you are using mastic droplets or mastic liqueur

Love from the first sight

This is probably a “love from the first sight” for me… the moment that this mouthwatering and flavoursome cookie entered my word, that was it… i was in love with it.

I can recall pleasureful and flavourful memories biting uncountable number of “kourambiedes” that are given as an attendance treat in weddings – it was normal to attend at least a wedding every other weekend if not every weekend when i was a kid – and Xmas’s that were turned white from the  icing sugar that was fallen from the cookies – it’s also an official Xmas traditional treat in Cyprus.

About the recipe

And here i am, many years after, still in love… baking them and sharing them with my loved ones… I do bake lot’s of batches of those delicious cookies, around Xmas… Its all about sharing they say, so i do share with friends and family cute little boxes especially crafted with love.

There are many variations of this traditional recipe. The recipe that i am using is probably closer to the Stelios Parliaros version.

I have recorded some variations that i have done from time to time for extra inspiration and creativity. The reason behind those variations is either my creativity flare married with my curiosity (hmm… if i do this and this…what would be the outcome?) and/or the luck of some ingredients. 

Recipe Insights | In Brief

ItemInfo
CostAED ~48.75 | GBP ~10.38 | EUR ~11.21 | USD ~13.29 *
for the amount of the ingredients required by the recipe

AED ~52.95 | GBP ~11.27 | EUR ~12.18 | USD ~14.43 *
if assumed that new packages will be bought for the recipe and that some part of it will remain unused i.e. 1kg of flour will be bought but 400 gr is needed

* (price estimated is excluding the splash of ouzo)
DifficultyEasy
Makes~ 100 depending on the size and thickness of the cookies
Life Spanup to 30 days or so when stored in an airtight container
Ingredients7 basic ingredients + extra*
* extra could be the demenara, cornflour, ouzo
StepsTime Required
Step 0: Prepare Firstly3 – 5 mins
Step 1: Roast Almonds10 mins + cooling down time*
Step 2: Mix Well Butter & Sugar20 mins
Step 3: Mix Other Ingredients5 mins
Step 4: Fine Tuning5 mins
Step 5: Shape & Bake2 mins shaping + 17 mins baking for each tray = 36 mins
Step 6: Final TouchesCool Down ~ 10 mins
Sugar Dust ~ 15 mins
Storage ~ 3 mins
Clean Up ~ 10 mins
In BriefPreparation ~66 mins – * done in parallel with mixing
Baking ~ 36 mins
Other ~ 38 mins
In TotalTotal Time Required ~ 140 mins *
* cooling down is done in parallel with mixing butter & sugar

Recipe Process Overview | In Brief

Step 0: Prepare Firstly | 3 – 5 mins

Gather All Ingredients
Gather All Utensils
Set oven to be preheated

Step 1: Roast Almonds | 10 mins

Roast in a pan the almonds
Add sugar, vanilla & a splash of water
Let them cool down – while working on Step 2
Chop using a knife or a blender

Step 2: Mix Butter & Sugar Well | 20 mins

Mix butter well
Then add sugar
Mix well until fluffy and whitish

Step 3: Mix Remaining Items | 5 mins

Add the liquids firstly
Then add the sieved dry ingredients
Then add the chopped almonds

Step 4: Fine Tuning |5 mins

Add some flour if the dough is sticky
If the opposite applies, add a splash of alcohol
The dough will be ready when mixed is not sticky and the mixer bowl sides clean

Step 5: Shape & Bake | 36 mins

Make an orange sized ball
Use the plaster in the 6mm setting
Use the cookie cutter to shape the cookies

Add the cookies onto the trays
Bake 2 trays per time
~ 25 cookies per tray+ ~4 trays in total = 100 cookies

Tip: I find more efficient to have 4 trays so you can bake concurrently 2 while preparing the remaining 2

Step 6: Finishing Touches | 38 mins

Remove trays from the oven
Let them cool down
Dust with icing sugar

Total Time Required | 140 mins

Preparation ~66 mins – * done in parallel with mixing
Baking ~ 36 mins
Other ~ 38 mins
———————————————————
Total Time Required ~ 140* mins

Recipe Process Overview | In Detail

Almond & Butter Cookies
Pin

Almond & Butter Cookies

Recipe by chefsatheartCourse: Baking, Cookies, Almond, Butter, Vanilla, Ouzo, MasticCuisine: Mediterranean, Traditional, Christmas CookiesDifficulty: Easy
Makes about

100

cookies
Prep time

1

hour 

6

minutes
Baking time

36

minutes
Calories

87

kcal
Total Time = Prep + Baking

1

hour 

52

minutes

Almond & Butter Cookies | Kourambiedes | Κουραμπιεδες | Κουραπιεδες | Κουραπιες | Chefs At Heart

Ingredients

  • Step 1: Roast, Caramelise & Cut Almonds

  • 75 gr almonds

  • 150 gr demenara sugar

  • splash of water

  • Step 2: Mix Butter & Sugar Well

  • 300 gr unsalted butter

  • 100 gr icing sugar

  • Step 3: Mix The Remaining Ingredients

  • 500 gr all purpose flour {+some extra for fine tuning)

  • 5 TBS conrflour

  • 1 tsp BP

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • 60 ml ouzo or mastic liqueur or dark rum

  • Step 6: Dust With Icing Sugar

  • 100 gr icing sugar

  • UTENSILS

  • 4 baking trays or at least 2 baking trays to bake concurrently

  • 1 pan

  • a precision scale

  • 1 small bowl to aid the weighting

  • cookie cutter

  • 1 wooden spoon or a spatula

  • 1 rolling pin

  • mixer/hand mixer

  • timer/watch

Directions

  • Step 0: Prepare Firstly
    Preheat the oven into 150 C, while you gather the ingredients and the utensils.
  • Step 2: Roast, Caramelise & Trim The Almonds
    • Roast the almonds in a pan. Then add, the dark sugar and a splash of water over medium heat to caramelize ~ 10 minutes.
    • Allow the mixture to cool down and then cut into small pieces using a knife or blender. I found cutting them with the knife a meditative & pleasureful exercise.
  • Step 2: Mix well butter & sugar
    • Cut the butter into pieces and beat together with the icing sugar for about 15 minutes or until the butter starts to become whiter & fluffier.
  • Step 3: Mix the remaining ingredients

    500 gr all purpose flour {+some extra for fine tuning)
    5 TBS conrflour
    1 tsp BP
    1 tsp vanilla
    60 ml ouzo or mastic liqueur or dark rum
  • Step 4: Fine Tuning
    • The mixture will be ready to be rolled if it detaches from the walls of the mixer easily. If not, add a little more flour into it until it comes out from the sides of the mixer. Repeat if needed.
  • Step 5: Shape & Bake
    • Then make large orange-sized balls and using the plaster to flatten the dough and then cut with the cookie cutter, preferably in the shape of a star. Spray the baking tray with spray oil (if not non stick) and place the biscuits (about 25 biscuits per baking tray).

    • Place 2 baking trays around the medium grill of the preheated oven, for about 15 minutes @ 150. Min 15 mins – Max 20 mins.

    • You will know that the cookies are ready when the lovely smell is spread around the oven.
  • Step 6: Finishing touches
    • Then remove the baking tray from the oven and let them rest to cool down for a bit.
    • When completely cooled down, with a colander dust plenty of icing sugar over the biscuits.
  • Step 7: Enjoy!
    • Enjoy with a nice cup of tea/coffee/lemonade.
    • Store the biscuits for up to 1 month in an airtight container.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Recipe Variations
  • You dont have ouzo? Use dark rum or brandy instead. My personal best are ouzo and mastic liqueur . Or you would love your cookies to have a kick? Add some more i.e. 85 ml instead of 60 ml.
  • You are allergic to almonds? Use hazelnuts or pistachios or no nuts at all.
  • You are short of flour? Try mixing oat flour (blend your porridge oats) or your baby’s Cerelac or Organix in the quantity that you are short with
  • You cannot find mastic liqueur? use blended mastic drops from Carrefour.

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Technical Tips

• Always pre-heat the oven for about 10 minutes or more before baking to ensure even temperature across the oven.

• Do not open the oven during baking time. This will cause drop in the temperature and you are risking uneven baking i.e can lead to flat and boring cookies.

• The butter should always be in a room temperature before being used and preferably rich in fat. The richer in fat the fluffier and yummier the result.

• The blending of butter and icing sugar is the most important step of the recipe: the fluffier that mixture is, the fluffier the cookies will be.

• The flour and dry ingredients should always be sieved before mixing with the rest of the ingredients. This ensures that the mixture will be mixed evenly with no bumps and there will be air to promise fluffiness. Also this a good check for food moths – yucky but can be a possibility!

• Ideally to use icing sugar as that is easier to melt and blend when baked. However, you can substitute icing sugar with normal or demenara blended sugar i.e. blend it further in the blender, or sugar syrup ie dilute it in a touch of water.

Recipe Nutrition Facts | Per Serving Excluding Icing On Top

Nutrition Facts

1 servings per container

Calories87

  • Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
  • Total Fat 9.8g 16%
    • Sodium 0.2mg 1%
    • Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
    • Total Carbohydrate 8g 3%
      • Dietary Fiber 5g 20%
      • Sugars 3.2g
    • Protein 1.2g 3%

      * The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.