← Nouns Cooking · Greek

Ingredients

• 150 g blanched almonds
• 250 g unsalted butter, softened
• 75 g Icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp brandy or ouzo (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 400 g plain flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1 pinch Salt
• 2 tbsp rose water or orange blossom water, for sprinkling (optional)
• 250 g icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Toast the almonds on a tray for 8–10 min until lightly golden, cool, then chop them finely.
2. Beat the butter with the 75 g icing sugar in a stand mixer for 8–10 min, until very pale, almost white, and fluffy. This long beating gives the cookies their crumbly texture.
3. Beat in the egg yolk, brandy and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, add the almonds and mix gently by hand into a soft dough.
4. Roll walnut-sized pieces into balls or small crescents and set them on lined trays, a little apart.
5. Bake for 18–20 min, until just pale golden underneath; the tops should stay light.
6. Leave on the tray for 5 min, sprinkle with a little rose water, then roll the warm cookies in icing sugar. When cold, dust them again so they are thickly coated.

Tips

• Contains nuts: almonds are traditional, but the cookies can be made without them for a nut-free batch.
• Stored airtight in their sugar, they keep for 2 weeks.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

My Greek Dish Dimitra's Dishes OliveTomato