2012 Cooking Club Week 12:Koulourakia, Traditional Greek Lenten Cookies

These little Greek butter cookies, or Koulourakia(pronounced coo-loo-ra-KEY-ah) are traditionally made during Lent. I was lucky enough to first taste them a few years ago in my best friends house. Her fiancé grew up on Lemnos, and his mother, being a typical Greek Mama, sent her son a huge box of goodies, just in case he couldn't find food here in Ireland. In amongst the Greek coffee, Halva, Baklava, and cigarettes, was a massive bag of Koulourakia. Crisp, yet soft and sweet, perfect with coffee, I was hooked immediately and demanded the recipe.


Ingredients

2 1/4 cups of Flour(plain flour is best)
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 cup Sugar (Caster or Icing sugar is best)
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Milk
1 egg

to glaze
1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon Milk
2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds

Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 5/375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius.

Mix flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.

In a large bowl, use a whisk to beat the softened butter until light then add the sugar and cream until fluffy and light coloured.


Stir in the milk, vanilla, and egg. The mix will be fairly wet and creamy at this stage.


Add the flour mixture, a half cup at a time. Mix well each time you add the flour, you'll notice it becoming more stiff and solid. When you can no longer use a spoon to combine, it's ready for kneading by hand. Knead it in the bowl until it has combined and the sides of the bowl are clean.


Take about a teaspoon of dough, and and roll it in your hands for a minute to warm the butter content. It should be about the size of a walnut, and smooth.



Roll on the countertop until it's about 5 inches long. Loosely fold it in half, and twist, pinching the end together. The pastry may crack , but is so soft that it can easily be smoothed out.


If you prefer, roll each end in towards the middle to make an S shape. Place on a baking tray, brush with beaten egg and milk, and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. If you find that the twists and curls are taking too much time, or prefer a simpler look, leave out the rolling and just flatten a ball of dough on the baking tray. Personally, I like the look of the S shapes(nothing to do with it being my initial ) and they are quicker to shape.


Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until a light golden colour. Enjoy with a cup of coffee!



The sesame seeds are the traditional topping, but they are lovely plain, with chopped pistachio's or almonds, or dipped in chocolate. They keep exceptionally well in an airtight container, and can be frozen and and eaten at a later date.