Cooking with our Guests: Dimitra’s Delicious Greek Almond Shortbread Recipe (Kourabiethes)

[@kaliorexi]

• Depending on your kourabie size preference, you can use a larger or smaller cookie cutter • The kourabiethes must be baked till they are a light-medium, golden-brown colour, otherwise they will be undercooked and they will stick to the roof of your mouth when you eat them • The kourabiethes need to be hot when you coat them with the icing sugar, so the base layer of the sugar sticks to the kourabie and keeps the rest of the icing sugar in place. Have your icing sugar sifted and ready, so you can coat the kourabiethes with the icing sugar when they come straight out of the oven. If you try to coat cooled kourabiethes, the icing sugar will just slide off • Always use pure icing sugar when coating the kourabiethes, otherwise the butter will be drawn out by the icing sugar and will spoil the look of the kourabiethes • DO NOT INHALE when taking a bite of the kourabie ☺

[@annakasos9417]

How about telling us hiw much butter , ?and was that an egg we could see ?

[@kaliorexi]

@@annakasos9417 Sorry we missed that in the video but it is listed in the recipe above. Hope that helps! Merry Christmas!

[@kaliorexi]

Key Points • Dimitra always blanches her own whole almonds before cutting and roasting them. She feels they taste fresher in the kourabie and believes this small extra step makes for a better final result. She says she can taste the difference • The blanched almonds need to be prepared well ahead of time, to ensure they are cool when added to the kourabie dough, otherwise the heat in the almonds will melt the butter in the dough and you won’t be able to form the kourabiethes • It is important for the almonds to achieve a lovely golden-brown colour when they dry-roast, so they can impart that wonderful roasted almond flavour to the kourabiethes. At the same time, it is important not to over-brown or burn the almonds, as this will add a bitterness to the kourabiethes • Dimitra uses Girgar butter and White Wings white self-raising flour when she makes her kourabiethes • Depending on the ambient air temperature, the softness of the butter and the strength of the flour you use, you will need to adjust the quantity of flour you add each time, to achieve the right texture in the dough. In addition, if you prefer crumbly, drier kourabiethes you will use more flour. If you prefer softer, buttery kourabiethes, you will use less flour. It may take a few attempts to work out the dough consistency that is needed to achieve your preferred kourabie texture • Add the flour very slowly and mix it well with each addition. It is easier to add a little flour if the dough is still soft and buttery, than suddenly end up with a very dry dough, that can’t be saved • Although the recipe calls for 500g of flour, usually less is added (approximately 450g) •

[@tacticalpotato4249]

Anyone else prefer their kourabiedes without nuts?!

[@kaliorexi]

You can always have your kourabiedes any way you like :-)... but the dry-roasted almonds really elevate the eating experience of these... try them!

[@kaliorexi]

Well, I love a plain shortbread too

[@almarivera2092]

🙄