Koulourakia
These elegant twists are nice and crunchy on the outside, but soft and almost scone-like inside. Koulourakia are made all over Greece during Easter and were originally meant to be eaten after holy Saturday. They are rich with lots of butter and eggs. The twisted shape is easier to make than you might think. braided circles, hairpin twists, figure eights, twisted wreaths, horseshoes or Greek letters. I liked this shape best. They do dry out and crisp up fast, so eat them quickly while they are soft or use them later for dunking in tea or coffee. If you like this cookie , try my variation koulourakia with lemon and poppyseed .
Koulourakia
(makes about 20 cookies)
225 grams butter
550 grams flour + extra for dusting
125 grams sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
grated rind of 1/2 orange3 eggs
± 100 milliliter orange juice
1 egg for brushing
sesame seed for scattering on top
A fat ball of fragrant dough
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Melt the butter and leave to cool slightly. Mix the flour with the sugar, orange rind and the baking powder. Break the eggs in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in ¾ of the orange juice. Start stirring and, while stirring, add the melted butter little by little. When all the butter is added, start kneading with your hands. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. If the dough is to dry, add some more orange juice. If it is to sticky, add some more flour. Beat the egg with a teaspoon of water.
shaping the cookies
Lightly dust your workspace with flour. Take walnut size piece of dough and roll a rope of about 20 cm long. Pick up the dough in the middle and pinch the ends together. Twist in the middle first and then again 2 or 3 times. Place the twist on a cookie sheet covered with baking paper and brush with the egg mixture.
ready for the oven
Scatter some sesame seed over the cookies and bake 15-20 minutes in the middle of the oven until golden.
This post is also available in: Dutch
