Greek Kourabiedes Cookies

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, unsalted and softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 -2 tablespoon orange flower water
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 350 degrees f.
• 2 toast the walnuts until golden brown and fragrant, about 6 minutes. let cool, then chop about half of the nuts (you should have about 1/2 cup chopped). pulse the remaining nuts in the food processor until finely ground (about 1/4 cup ground).
• 3 stir the flour, baking powder, salt and nuts together in a medium bowl. set aside.
• 4 in another medium bowl, beat the butter, sugar, egg yolk, brandy and vanilla extract together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture gets light and fluffy, about 10 minutes.
• 5 at low speed, stir in the nut mixture to make a crumbly dough. cover the bowl and set dough aside at room temperature for 1 hour.
• 6 preheat oven to 350 degrees f. line two baking sheets with parchment or coat with nonstick spray.
• 7 with a tablespoon, scoop out 1-inch pieces of dough and roll into balls between the palms of your hands. pinch the ends of the balls to make a football shape. place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets. bake until the cookies set and start to brown, about 18 minutes.
• 8 remove cookies from the oven and immediately sprinkle them lightly with the orange water. (if you don't have a brush, simply dip your fingers into the water and flick it over the cookies a few times.) take care not to douse them, just enough for them to carry the scent of flowers.
• 9 put the confectioners' sugar in a bag, and add 5 to 6 of the warm cookies to it. very gently toss the cookies to coat with sugar. remove them from the bag and cool cookies on a rack. repeat with remaining cookies. serve.