Almond Crescents (Kourabiedes)

Bayhill's Note:

Posted for the Zaar World Tour-Greece. From the "International Vegetarian Cookbook". I have had cookies similar to these, but not this exact recipe.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 35 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 30 cookies

• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1 cup sweet butter or 1 cup margarine, softened
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon brandy or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Spread ground almonds in a shallow pan and toast in a 350F degrees oven for 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. In a bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add the 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar and egg yolk, mixing well. Stir in brandy or vanilla and almonds.
3. In another bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, blending until smooth.
4. Pinch off walnut-size pieces of dough and shape into crescents. Place on ungreased baking sheets, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart.
5. Bake in a 325F degree oven for 30 minutes or until very lightly browned. Place baking sheets on racks and let cookies cool for 5 minutes.
6. Sift about half the 1-1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar over wax paper and transfer cookies to it. Sift the remaining 3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar over top to cover cookies. Let stand until cool, then store in a tightly covered container.

Reviews

[Midwest Maven]

I've eaten these amazing cookies before but never made them until now, yummy! I actually didn't have the problem of crumbly dough, mine was a little too sticky and could've used a tad more flour. Sooo addictive though and very pretty delicate cookies.Thanks for sharing this, my Greek boyfriend loved them! Made for ZWT6 Queens of Quisine!

[Deb's Recipes]

We really enjoyed these delightful little Greek cookies for dessert alongside Greek Yoghurt and Fruit Salad #166623 during the first leg of Zaar World Tour II. A couple teaspoonfuls cold water added to the dough made it less crumbly and more workable. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

[justcallmetoni]

Okay, I was a little nervous about this but the final results were worth the effort. The dough was quite crumbly and needed a good bit of hand pressing to form the little cresents. Resisted the urge to add any more liquid. Once I popped them into the oven it was smooth sailing -- the cookies cooked perfectly in 30 minutes and were a very buttery lttle shortbread - not at all sweet. The sugar adhered easily from all the butter and gave the final cookie the missing sweetness. I wanted a bit more of the almond flavor to come through and would probably double it in the future. Messy but delicious. Thanks Bayhill.