Name: Butter & almond shortbreads
Yield: Makes 20–22
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 150 g/5 oz/1¼ cups blanched almonds; 225 g/8 oz/1 cup unsalted butter; 2 egg yolks; 5 ml/1 tsp vanilla extract; 150 g/5 oz/¾ cup caster/superfine sugar; 45 ml/3 tbsp brandy; 500 g/1¼ lb/5 cups plain/all-purpose flour sifted with a pinch of salt; 2.5 ml/½ tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda; 350 g/12 oz/3 cups icing/confectioners’ sugar

Preparation info

Makes
20–22

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food & Cooking of Greece

By Rena Salaman

Published 2023

About

Dazzling white kourabiethes are traditionally made at Christmas and Easter, but are also an important feature of many other Greek celebrations. They are usually crescent-shaped, but I have cut them into stars for a festive feel. Use whichever cutters you have to hand.

Ingredients

150 g/5 oz/1¼ cups blanched almonds
225

Method

To toast the almonds, brown them in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, shaking the pan often. Remove from the heat, leave to cool, then chop coarsely in a food processor.

Cream the butter and beat in the caster sugar gradually, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then the vanilla extract.