2 cup butter, unsalted
1 cup sugar, powdered
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp brandy
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 cup flour
1/2 cup almonds (blanched), chopped
1 lb sugar, powdered (one package)
Directions
Beat the butter with the sugar until it becomes
fluffy. Add the egg yolks one by one, beating
continuously. Add the brandy and vanilla.
Blend in the almonds and the flour, a cup at a time.
Use enough flour to get a firm dough (it may take a
bit more or less than the amount mentioned in the
ingredients list). Use your hands to do the mixing, as
an electric mixer will be useless after the first two
or three cups of flour have been added. Place the
dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Shape the dough into balls, about one inch in
diameter, flatten them and place on greased cookie
sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Roll each cookie (while it is
still hot) in the powdered sugar and put it back on
the cookie sheet. Repeat this step once more, so that
you get a thicker coating.
Place the coated cookies on a platter, liberally
sprinkling each layer and the bottom of the platter
with powdered sugar. When you are done, there
shouldn't be any sugar left. Let them cool and they
are ready to eat!
NOTES:
* Traditional Greek Christmas cookies coated with
powdered sugar -- This is one of the two kinds of
confection that are traditionally consumed in large
quantities in Greece during the holiday season (the
other is melomacarona). As a quick lesson in greek,
"kourabiedes" (pronounced "kou-ra-bi-ETH-es", is the
plural of the word "kourabies" (kou-ra-bi-ES). Now all
you need to enjoy them is the recipe. I got this one
from a Greek cookbook and translated it into English.
* The cookbook suggests the following variations:
using ouzo or scotch instead of brandy, and almond
extract instead of vanilla extract, but I have not
tried any of them. Also, putting granulated instead of
powdered sugar in the dough didn't seem to affect the
recipe, there's so much sugar in it, that you couldn't
tell the difference anyway.
* The cookbook also suggested using twice the amount
of sugar for coating. This is obviously too much, but
it should make you realize that you must really be
liberal with the sugar!
: Difficulty: Easy to moderate.
: Time: 30 minutes preparation, one hour
refrigeration, 20 minutes baking. : Precision:
approximate measurement OK.
: Kriton Kyrimis
: Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
: princeton!kyrimis kyrimis@princeton.edu
: Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust
Servings: 30 pieces
Kourabiedes Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Alcohol; Appetizer; Beverage; Nut
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to trace the history of recipes way back into antiquity, in truth as far into history as the ancient Egyptians, and maybe even further. However, sadly, these old cook books were just very basic hieroglyphic recipes for food preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to experts is a collection of ancient tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. Later on, in The time of the roman empire around 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled some scripts which described recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his scrolls, he describes how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into appetizers, entrees and dessert, a style of dining still practiced today. He also describes how the early Romans were skilled in the use of many herbs and spices, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens such as basil, fennel and asafoetida. During the following few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of the West tried to lay on the most exotic banquets, and consequentially cooks and their recipe collections became highly prized. Nevertheless, it was during the 1800s that fine cookery and recipe collections really came of age. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, spent years to collating, verifying, and recording recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. By the time we get to the 1900s, cookery books were increasing in popularity due to better eduction, more spare time and disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Kourabiedes recipe.
