Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Koulourakis ( Greek Butter Cookies )


Koulourakis ( Greek Butter Cookies ) ... Traditional Greek butter cookies, known as Koulourakis / Koulourakia, are typically made at Easter. They can be formed in several shapes as braided circles, twists, figure eights, twisted wreaths, coils, horseshoes, S shape or Greek letters. Airy light, crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside and not too sweet, these cookies are great eaten with a cup of coffee or tea.


Koulourakis ( Greek Butter Cookies )
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Makes : approx. 36 cookies, depending on shape & size


Ingredients :
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour ( plus extra flour, as needed )
  • 3 tsp.  baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp.  baking soda
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp.  vanilla extract
  • 1/2 orange rind, grated
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
    Method :
    • Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F.
    • In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
    • In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 
    • Add vanilla extract and orange rind and mix well. 
    • Add 2 eggs one by one and beat until well incorporated.
    • Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix all ingredients until a soft dough forms.  { Dough should be soft, but not sticky. If it is too sticky, add small amounts of extra flour (1 tablespoon at a time) until you can break off a piece of the dough and roll in a thin tube without dough sticking together }.
    • To shape cookies, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a walnut. Roll into a thin cord, about the length of a dinner knife. Fold in half and twist twice. You can also shape dough into coils or an "S" shape. 
    • Arrange cookies on a lightly greased or paper-lined cookie sheet, leaving enough space between them as they will expand while baking.
    • Beat remaining egg in a small bowl. Brush cookies lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
    • Bake cookies approximately 14 - 20 minutes or until golden brown.
    Notes :
    • I used about 1/2 cup extra flour as my dough was very sticky.
    • I also chilled the dough for an hour before shaping cookies.
    Recipe Source : Eggland's Best Eggs



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    Thank you for stopping by. Hope you enjoy the recipe!!!

    37 comments :

    1. almost look like bread but in a small version!!!
      satya
      http://chitty-boy.blogspot.com

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    2. Wow! This looks yummy...and something new for me. Thanks for sharing :)

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    3. Glad you are back:) cookies look yummy!

      www.momcook.blogspot.com

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    4. love the cuties,looks so delicious.

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    5. Very cute and scrumptious cookies..

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    6. wow looks awesome, stunning clicks dear:)

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    7. glad to see u back :) beautiful clicks..

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    8. I'm so glad you're back! I've missed your posts!
      These cookies look delicious! Almost like little rolls of bread :)

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    9. Wow.. Cookies look super yum ambreen!

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    10. Yummy those sound awesome and I love how they look. Thanks for sharing!

      Happy Blogging!
      Happy Valley Chow

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    11. Your koulourakia as we call them in Greece look absolutely perfect Ambreen! Welcome back!

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    12. these butter cookies look fabulous

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    13. I love butter cookies and I love sesame seeds...yum! =)

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    14. º° ❤♫°
      Olá, amiga!

      Parecem tão deliciosos!...
      Bom fim de semana!

      °Âº♡♡♫
      °Âº♡ Beijinhos do Brasil
      º° ♡ ❤♫° ·

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    15. Fab cookies and I love the patterns you have made.

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    16. Una splendida e deliziosa ricetta!!! Complimenti!!!!

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    17. welcome back and perfect cookies with tea.

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    18. I'm so glad you back, and hope you had a good vacation :)
      I love these cookies. They are very well known here and everyone just loves them

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    19. These are really gorgeous, love the addition of sesame seeds!

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    20. welcome back!
      yumm yumm..thanks for sharing :)

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      Replies
      1. Thanks you so much everyone for your lovely comments & the warm welcome back to blogging. I've missed you all!

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    21. nice!looks gread!
      But them name is "kulurakia", never mind where is the butter? because you make butter cookis

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      Replies
      1. Butter is right there in the ingredients list ... at No. 4. Perhaps, you missed it!

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    22. They butter cookies are fabulous. Looks like you are back full on !

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    23. Lovely recipe and beautiful clicks Ambreen :-)

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    24. These look delicious!! The orange rind and sesame seeds are a neat change from what you usually see in cookies. Thank you for sharing at our Simply Create Link Party. I can't wait to see what you link up tomorrow!

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    25. Thank you Melissa for visiting & for your sweet comment :)

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