Kourabiedes (Greek Walnut Sugar Cookies)
- Level: Easy
- Yield: about 2 dozen cookies
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 24 servings
- Calories
- 115
- Total Fat
- 7
- Saturated Fat
- 3
- Carbohydrates
- 13
- Dietary Fiber
- 0
- Sugar
- 6
- Protein
- 2
- Cholesterol
- 18
- Sodium
- 33
- Total: 1 hr 50 min
- Prep: 25 min
- Inactive: 1 hr
- Cook: 25 min
Ingredients
3/4 cup walnuts
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons orange flower water
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Toast the walnuts until golden brown and fragrant, about 6 minutes. Let cool, then chop about half of the nuts (you should have about 1/2 cup chopped). Pulse the remaining nuts in the food processor until finely ground (about 1/4 cup ground).
- Stir the flour, baking powder, salt and nuts together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, beat the butter, sugar, egg yolk, brandy and vanilla extract together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture gets light and fluffy, about 10 minutes.
- At low speed, stir in the nut mixture to make a crumbly dough. Cover the bowl and set dough aside at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or coat with nonstick spray.
- With a tablespoon, scoop out 1-inch pieces of dough and roll into balls between the palms of your hands. Pinch the ends of the balls to make a football shape. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies set and start to brown, about 18 minutes.
- Remove cookies from the oven and immediately sprinkle them lightly with the orange water. (If you don't have a brush, simply dip your fingers into the water and flick it over the cookies a few times.) Take care not to douse them, just enough for them to carry the scent of flowers.
- Put the confectioners' sugar in a bag, and add 5 to 6 of the warm cookies to it. Very gently toss the cookies to coat with sugar. Remove them from the bag and cool cookies on a rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. Serve.
- Busy baker's tips: Dough can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Baked cookies can be wrapped in plastic, then aluminum foil, for up to 2 weeks. To serve, let cookies come to room temperature before dusting with confectioners' sugar.