Koulourakia (Greek Easter Cookies)

It's Easter!  A time for many to spend with family or in church, and an opportunity to reflect. I have a young nephew, and though he is too young to understand any deeper meaning, he is at an age where he knows holidays and family. So in trying to start new traditions with my nephew, I decided to bake something (I mean,  that is kind of my thing). 

Koulourakia is a Greek Easter Cookie. And though for Greek Orthodox the Easter holiday falls several weeks after Easter for most people, this cookie is not reserved for just Easter. You can get it at Greek bakeries or at Greek fests year round.

It's been a while since I made a new Greek recipe. Dessert-wise, I'm comfortable with galaktoboureko, baklava, and though I made kourabiedes once, Greek cookies have been outside of my realm for a while. And so I decided this would be the perfect Easter tradition to start. Greek cookies it is.

I started out by creaming the butter and sugar together with my stand mixer, then added vanilla and orange zest. Orange zest is a great addition for desserts. The right amount adds a subtle orange flavor.

The recipe called for two eggs, but I ran into a snafu here; I only had one egg. And it was Easter, so no chance I was getting more that day. I decided to use flax seed as a substitute; if you mix flax seed with some water, it can be used to replace an egg in a recipe. I did not include this in the final recipe I posted because eggs are the best choice and would have been preferred. In addition, not everyone has flax seeds on hand, so I'd prefer the more common ingredient be there.

As a side note, I chose flax seed over other egg alternatives partially because of texture. The kourabiedes I mentioned before were made with almond flour, which has a slightly grainier texture than regular flour. I felt that if the flax seeds added some slight texture to the cookies, it would be good.

Lastly, I mixed in the baking powder and flour, then placed the dough in the fridge to firm up.

After about 30 minutes, I took the dough out and spooned out about 1 tablespoon of dough onto a lightly floured baking mat and rolled it into a thin log.

I repeated this with a second piece of dough, then twisted the two together gently to form a braided log and placed it on a baking sheet.

I got about 18 likely absurdly large, fairly ugly cookies (the original recipe supposedly made 60, but I was making larger cookies, so keep in mind you can get as many as your patience and rolling abilities allow.

The big thing I noticed while making the braided rolls is that this is different from other doughs in that if the dough tears, it does not form back together easily. I just added it back to the roll and balled up new pieces if it tore.

Once they were all on a cookie sheet, I brushed them with butter and sprinkled some sesame seeds

After about 15 minutes, the cookies were done. So not perfect looking by a long shot but hey, it was my first go.

They were SO good, though!

These crunchy shortbread cookies with a slight orange flavor were perfect snacks.

These were just the way I expected in texture and flavor. I've been eating these my whole life, and though a little larger than normal, they were a just right for what I needed 'em for. The rolling will take a few more times to nail down, but I'm happy to have started a new tradition. Easter eggs and cookies, here we go.


Koulourakia Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter (I used unsalted)

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup warm milk (I used whole)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon orange zest (or zest of one orange)

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Instructions:

Beat butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes on medium speed in a stand mixer, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and orange zest, then mix in 2 of the eggs, one at a time. Gradually add baking powder and flour until combined. Cover and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes to firm up the dough.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a working surface by lightly flouring it. After cooling, spoon out about 1 tablespoon of the dough and use your hands to roll the dough into a log about 6 inches in length. Make a second roll, then gently twist the two rolls together and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Beat the last egg in a small bowl, then brush onto the cookies before baking (alternatively, you can brush on melted butter, but egg will give you a shinier, golden look). Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.

adapted from koulourakia