Greek kourabiedes — traditional biscuits with butter, almonds and icing sugar

Ingredients (for about 40 biscuits):

• 500 g butter at room temperature
• 150 g icing sugar (plus about 200 g for dusting)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 sachet vanilla sugar)
• 100 ml cognac (optional)
• 200 g toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
• 700–750 g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt

Preparation steps:

1. Toast the almonds in the oven at 180°C for 8–10 minutes, until golden; let them cool completely and chop them coarsely.
2. Beat the butter with 150 g icing sugar with an electric mixer for 10–12 minutes, until it turns into a white, fluffy cream.
3. Add the egg yolks one at a time, the vanilla and the cognac, beating continuously until absorbed.
4. Add the chopped almonds and mix with a wooden spoon.
5. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt, then gradually add it to the dough until a soft dough forms that does not stick to the hands — do not overwork it.
6. Heat the oven to 170°C. Shape balls or crescents of about 30 g by hand and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, with a little distance between them.
7. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the bottoms turn lightly golden (the surface stays white).
8. Let them cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then dust them generously with icing sugar on all sides. Before serving, dust them once more.

Time and servings: Preparation about 30 minutes, baking 20–25 minutes. Makes about 40 biscuits.

Recipe adapted into Albanian; photograph: Kourabiedes (CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons).