See also my previous recipe.

Frosso gave me the recipe she had gotten from Mrs Dandoura, mother of her class-mate and best friend Chrysouli who recently passed. Mrs Dandoura had learned to make kourambiedes from her mother and grandmother. They came from a wealthy, shipping Galaxidi family, a town 15 klm southwest of Delphi that had flourished in the 18th and through the 19th century as a result of maritime trade and commercial exchanges with the West due to its exquisite natural port.

Calculating the generations that baked these festive cookies, we concluded that the recipe must be at least 200 years old.  Thus kourambiedes were not, as the Greek version of Wikipedia cites “brought by prosfyges (refugees),”  the Anatolian Greek population who fled after the defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) from Smyrna (Izmir) and other parts of Turkey. Prosfyges did, indeed, introduce quite a few special foods to Palaioelladites —the local Greeks– but certainly kourambiedes were already part of the local festive table in many parts of the country.  

Probably the word kourabies (plural kourabiedes) derives from Qurabiya a Persian and/or Arabic word with many variations, used for similar short-bread cookies throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and north Africa. Often sprinkled or with the addition of rose or citrus-flower water, I have not seen any version of these cookies that contained so many spices, and I just imagine that the cosmopolitan Galaxidi merchants were maybe inspired by the festive European/Grerman cookies. But this is my assumption, as I am also baking Pfeffernüsse and Lebkuchen these days…

Paula Wolfert in her wonderful 1988 book ‘Paula Wolfert’s World of Food‘ has a version of kourabiedes she calls ‘Greek Butter-Almond Cookies’ and over the years she kept telling me how amazing they were. As she wrote in the headnote she served them in her wedding, as many Greek families do.  

Makes about 30 large or 40 small cookies.

1 1/3 cup butter, or a combination sheep’s milk and regular butter, oftened

 1/4  cup confectioner’s sugar, plus about 2 cups to coat the baked cookies

1  egg yolk

2  tablespoons mastic-flavored liqueur, ouzo, Pernod, or any anise-flavored liqueur 

1  cup un-skinned almonds, toasted in the oven for about 20 minutes and coarsely chopped 

2 1/2 -3 cups unbleached cake or all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (optional)

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

About 1/4 of a nutmeg, freshly ground

1/2  teaspoon ground cinnamon

About 1/4 cup citrus-blossom water to sprinkle the cookies

In a food processor or electric mixer, beat the butter for about 6 minutes until very light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar and the the egg yolk, and continue beating, then add the liqueur or ouzo and process for 2-3 minutes more.

Sift the flour with the baking powder, and the spices.

Fit the processor with a dough hook and gradually add the flour. Process the mixture for just a couple of minutes, until a soft dough forms. Add the almonds and process until the dough is smooth again, about 1 minutes more.

Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C).

Shape tablespoons of dough into round, oval, or crescent-shaped cookies, and place on a cookie sheet, leaving about 1 inch between the cookies so that they won’t stick together as they expand.

Alternatively flatten the dough on the work surface making about 1/3 inch thick squares, and with small cookie cutters cut rounds, squares or crescents. Collect and flatten the leftover dough, then cut into shapes again.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until pale golden. Cool for 5 minutes then sprinkle with the flower water.

Spread 2 cups confectioners’ sugar on a large serving plate. Very carefully, because they break easily, roll each cookie in the sugar, and place on a rack to cool.

Proceed with all the cookies, adding more sugar to the plate as necessary.

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Unlike the boldly flavored cacik, the Turkish yogurt-cucumber-garlic soup, common throughout the Mediterranean –an ancestor of tzatziki– this older, fragrant Persian soup has no garlic.

I use almonds or pistachios instead of the walnuts the original recipe calls for, and I add preserved lemon, which enhances the soup with its salty-tangy flavor. I suggest you double the recipe and enjoy it the next morning for breakfast.

Serves 6

1/4 cup (25 g) dried rose petals, crushed

1/3 cup (40 g) almonds, or pistachios

About 1/8 of a  preserved lemon piece, briefly rinsed

2 cups (500 g) Greek-style yogurt

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) ice water

1/2 cup (80 g) golden raisins, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, finely diced cucumber (one small or 2/3 of a large cucumber)

1/4 cup (10 g) finely chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup (10 g) finely chopped fresh dill

1/4 cup (25 g) finely chopped chives or scallions, white and most of the green parts

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Sumac

2-3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachios (optional)

Garlic Blossoms (optional)

In a small bowl, soak the rose petals in slightly warm water until softened and cold, about 20 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Spread the almonds or pistachios on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly colored. Let cool and chop finely in a food processor together with the preserved lemon.

In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt with the ice water. Add the raisins, cucumber, mint, dill, chives, rose petals, and almonds. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover and transfer to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, then serve in glasses or in shallow bowls, sprinkling generously with sumac, pistachios, and garlic blossoms, if you like.

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Now that strawberries appeared in the market,  I adapted Darra’s basic recipe for this early spring fruit.

For a 9-inch round cake –or equivalent square, or 1 large or 2 small loaves 

700 grams strawberries, stemmed and sliced, plus a few more for decoration the cake

Olive oil for rubbing the pan

1 cup coarsely chopped almonds

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or kosher salt)

1 tablespoon vanilla essence

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup raisins

Grand Marnier Liqueur (optional)

Strawberry jam (optional) 

Coarsely chopped pistachios

Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F degrees (180 C).

Line with parchment paper the pan (or pans) that you will use for the cake, and lightly rub with olive oil, then sprinkle with half the almonds.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs, sugar and salt on medium-high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Gradually add the flour into the egg mixture, and gently fold with a spatula until just combined and no flour streaks remain. The batter will be quite thick.

Mix the sliced strawberries with the raisins and the rest of the almonds.

Spread half the strawberries in an even, compact layer at the bottom of the pan. Cover with half the batter and use an offset spatula to spread the batter evenly over the fruit. Repeat with the remaining strawberry and batter. Gently tap the pan a few times against the counter to get rid of air bubbles, and transfer to the oven.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out almost clean and the top of cake is golden brown.

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes, then gently run a knife around the perimeter to loosen and carefully invert the pan on a platter and let cool completely. 

Sprinkle with some liqueur and then spread a layer of strawberry jam over the cake, if you like. Decorate with the reserved strawberries and sprinkle with pistachios before cutting to serve.

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They come in various shades of pink, and some are pure white. I guess the people who planted the trees, many years ago, chose different kinds; some produce small round fruit, others larger, elongated and very hard, difficult to crack. In the old days almonds from the islands were considered particularly delicious and fetched high prices. Now, with plenty of cheaper imports, people don’t even bother to harvest and crack them…

In a few weeks, when the green almonds reach the size of a small bean, or the nail of my small finger, as my neighbor says, I will collect a few to pickle. It is important to select green almonds that are crunchy but tender –before their shell hardens, and while the nut inside looks like a translucent jelly.

To select green almonds for pickling I have to observe carefully their growth, and pick them when they are half an inch long. In just a couple of days they may grow too large and tough, unsuitable for pickling.

Throughout the Middle East, the green almonds of early spring are nibbled raw, are added to salads or they are cooked together with lamb in a lemony sauce. In Greece they are preserved in heavy syrup, as yet another spoon-sweet, like karydaki (green unripe walnut), or melitzanaki, tiny eggplants, the most exotic of our spoon-sweets. Green almonds are also pickled. Unusually delicious and crunchy pickled green almonds are served as an appetizer, together with the various kinds of olives, and mixed vegetable pickles of cauliflower, peppers and carrots. Their sour taste complements perfectly the sweet and strong anise-flavored ouzo or raki.

My marinade, is sour-sweet (agro- dolce) inspired from the Ligurian tiny pickled peaches. Peach growers have to alleviate the trees of the abundance of fruits in early spring, so that the right amount of peaches ripen to perfection. The tiny crunchy pickled peaches look and taste very much like tsagala, our green almonds. Both trees belong to the same family anyway…

RECIPE: Pickled Tsagala (Green Almonds)  

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My late cousin Leonidas loved sweets, but he had health problems that meant he had to avoid butter and eggs. At some point, inspired by rolled baklava, he created these wonderfully simple, vegan crunchy, almond, and lemon phyllo rolls.

They are more like cookies than a real dessert dish, but they are dangerously addictive.

Leonidas used to bring them to our festive lunches and dinners, and he was proud to share the recipe with anyone who asked—and most people did. See at the bottom my savory variation, with cheese.

Makes about 85 pieces 

1/2 pound (225 g) almonds, with skins

1/4 to 1/3 cup (50 to 65 g) sugar, to taste

Zest of 3 untreated lemons, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pound (455 g) phyllo, at room temperature (defrosted according to package directions)

Olive oil, for brushing the phyllo

Lemon liqueur or brandy, for sprinkling the rolls

Confectioner’s sugar, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190°C).

Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast very lightly, tossing once, until just fragrant, about 8 minutes. Keep the oven on. Grind the almonds, neither too finely nor too coarsely—they should be the consistency of coarse bulgur. In a bowl, mix the almonds with the sugar, lemon zest, and cinnamon.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

With a good chef’s knife, before removing the plastic wrap from the phyllo packaging, cut the phyllo roll into 4 equal, smaller rolls.

Unroll one of the pieces. You will have a long stack of sheets. Cut the stack into 4 equal rectangles. Remove the top 2 rectangles of phyllo and keep the rest covered with plastic wrap so the phyllo doesn’t dry out. Oil the top phyllo layer lightly with the tip of your finger.

Spread a line of the almond mixture, about a heaping teaspoon’s worth, 1/2 inch (12 mm) from the bottom of the long side of the rectangle, leaving about 1/2 inch (12 mm) free on either side. Roll up the phyllo as if it were a cigar to enclose the filling, oiling the phyllo with your finger as you roll. Place the “cigar” on the baking sheet, seam side down.

Continue stuffing and rolling double rectangle sheets of phyllo the same way. You will fill both trays.

Bake the cigars in the preheated oven, rotating the trays after about 8 minutes. They should cook for about 15 minutes total, until light golden.

Let cool a few minutes, then sprinkle the cigars with a few drops of lemon liqueur or brandy and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Let cool completely and store in airtight boxes. In the unlikely event that you manage to resist the allure of the cigars, they will keep for at least 1 week.

VARIATION:

Savory Almond and Cheese “Cigars”

Enjoy this addictive finger food, which is an ideal accompaniment as an aperitif with drinks. Instead of sugar, add 1 1/2 cups (150 g) grated hard Myzithra or Parmesan cheese to the almond mixture. Omit the cinnamon and add 2 to 3 teaspoons Aleppo pepper or freshly ground black pepper, to taste, and proceed as above. If you like, for a savory crust, brush the finished rolls with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds and fleur de sel before baking.

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The old island recipes called for lard, as butter was not a common ingredient, while the special lard from the belly of the freshly slaughtered pork was used for these, and other festive winter sweets .

In most recipes from the mainland and the north kourambiedes are made with the strongly-flavored sheep’s milk butter, while there are also also somre Lenten versions made with olive oil.

Today most homes and bakeries prepare the cookies exclusively with butter, or a combination of butter, often with some sheep’s milk butter. I do love this old, Cycladic version which you can try if you can get good lard.

Makes about 30 large or 40 small cookies.

1/2 cup lard or butter, softened

1/2 cup light, mellow olive oil (not fruity)

1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus about 2 cups to sprinkle on the cookies

1 egg yolk

Zest of 1 large lemon

3 tablespoons ouzo, Pernod, or any other anise-flavored liqueur

3 cups unbleached cake or all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground white pepper (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup coarsely ground toasted almonds (not skinned)

In a food processor or electric mixer, beat the lard or butter and olive oil with 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for about 6 minutes. Add the egg yolk, lemon zest, and ouzo and process for 2-3 minutes more. Sift the flour with the baking powder and the pepper, if using. Fit the processor with a dough hook and gradually add the flour. Process the mixture for 2-3 minutes, until a soft dough forms. Add the almonds and process until the dough is smooth again, about 1-2 minutes more.

Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C).

Shape tablespoons of dough into round, oval, or crescent-shaped cookies, and place on a cookie sheet, leaving about 1 inch between the cookies so that they won’t stick together as they expand.

Alternatively flatten the dough on the work surface making a square about 1/4 inch thick, and with small cookie cutters cut rounds, squares or crescents. Collect and flatten the leftover dough, then cut into shapes.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until pale golden. Cool for 10 minutes.

Spread 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on a large serving plate. Very carefully, because they break easily, roll each cookie in the sugar, and place on a rack to cool. Proceed with all the cookies, adding more sugar to the plate as necessary.

Finally, sift additional sugar on top of the cookies and let rest for 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Carefully pack the cookies in boxes, spreading a piece of waxed paper between each layer.

Toasted Almond Cookies will keep in an airtight jar for 2 months or longer.

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This is a delicious festive treat! Use the egg yolks to make Pots de Crème!  

For a 10-inch round cake

8 egg whites (from medium-size eggs)

1 cup melted butter (or mixture of butter and olive oil)

1 cup confectioner’s sugar, plus more to sprinkle the cake

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (100 grams, 3 1/4 ounces)

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/4 cup ground almonds or walnuts

Grated zest of one orange or lemon

Line a 10-inch pan with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the butter and 1 cup confectioner’s sugar until well mixed. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, almonds of walnuts and the zest. Beat the flour mixture into the egg mixture, until fully incorporated. The mixture will be quite runny.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a rack for about 15 minutes, and carefully invert and peel away the parchment paper. Sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar.

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Most people now use blanched almonds, but I find that, although less attractive, cookies made with whole, un-skinned nuts are equally delicious, not to mention a bit less labor-intensive — if you’re starting from the harvest-field.

All over the Middle East one finds endless variations of these cookies, often heavily scented with citrus blossom, or rose water. I prefer to just use my own lemon liqueur, leaving the flavor and aroma of the local almonds shine; but if you have ordinary almonds I suggest you use a good quality citrus blossom water.

See also the Lemon-scented Almond cookies that are not baked, but cooked on the stove.

For 60 cookies

2 pounds blanched almonds , or un-skinned, if you like

2 cups sugar

6-7 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Almond extract (optional)

Citrus blossom water, as needed

3-4 tablespoons Lemon Liqueur, as needed, optional

About 60 whole blanched almonds

In the blender or mixer grind the almonds with the sugar to a polenta-like consistency.

Beat the egg whites with 1 tablespoon sugar and a pinch of salt to form soft peaks.

In a large bowl combine the almonds and sugar, adding a few drops of almond extract, or 1 tablespoon citrus blossom water. Gradually add enough egg whites to make a mixture that can be shaped into cookies. Be careful at this stage because you don’t want to make a wet paste –you may not need all the egg whites.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Wetting your hands with liqueur or orange blossom water, take walnut-size pieces of the almond mixture and briefly roll on your palms to form into balls. Flatten slightly, pushing your finger at the top to make a dimple where you stick a whole almond. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden both on top and at the bottom. Be very careful NOT to dry them. The almond cookies must be hard on the outside and still somewhat wet and soft inside. They may appear soft as you take them out of the oven but they harden as they cool.

Let cool completely, and store in air-tight boxes.

If you can resist eating them all, the almond cookies can be frozen for up to 4 months.

The post Kean Amygdalota (Flourless Almond Cookies) appeared first on Aglaia's Table οn Kea Cyclades.

See also the Flourless Kean Almond Cookies

Makes About 50 Cookies

3 lemons, preferably organic and not waxed

1 pound blanched almonds

2 1/2 to 3 cups sugar

Home made Lemon Liqueur, or limoncello liqueur

Confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar

Zest lemons with a vegetable peeler into long, thin strips. Place peels in a small saucepan; reserve lemons. Add cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Drain peels, add fresh cold water to cover and bring to a boil again. Drain, rinse under plenty of cold running water and drain again. Dry completely with paper towels.

Combine almonds and lemon peels in a food processor and process until finely ground. Juice peeled lemons through a sieve set over a bowl, pressing against fruit to release all juices.

In a large saucepan, combine almond mixture, 2 1/2 cups sugar and 2/3 cup of lemon juice and simmer, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved, about 7 minutes. Taste and add more sugar if needed, and set aside to cool.
Shape tablespoon-sized portions of the mixture into 11/2-inch balls or pear shapes, wetting your fingers with lemon liqueur as you work. Arrange cookies on a tray.

Dredge each cookie in confectioners’ or granulated sugar to coat.

Wrap each individually in cellophane or place in an airtight box. Let stand for at least 3 days before serving.

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