Greek Easter Cookies Recipe

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4.34 from 21 votes

Here's how to make Authentic Greek Easter Koulourakia. Buttery, crumbly, and very aromatic.

Prep Time1

Cook Time20

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: cookies, Easter, mastiha

Servings: -40 cookies

Calories: 154kcal

Ingredients

For The Cookies:

300 grams / 10.6 oz butter at room temperature
200 grams / 7 oz sugar
150 grams / 5.3 0z eggs
100 ml milk
20 grams orange juice
½ orange zested
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon Mastic powder or ¼ teaspoon Mastic tears
700 grams / 1lb + 8.6 oz all purpose flour
2 grams (a generous pinch) salt
10 grams / 0.3 baking powder
2½ teaspoons Mahleb powder

For the egg wash:

1 small egg
2 tablespoons water

Instructions

Make The Cookie Dough:

In a bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder, and set aside.
In another small bowl or cup add the orange juice and zest. Add the baking soda and stir to dissolve. Set aside as well.
NOTE: If using Mastic tears instead of powder please see note 1 below.
Cut butter into small pieces and add to your mixer bowl. Cream butter with sugar over medium-high speed for at least 10 minutes.
Add the eggs one by one. Wait a minute or two for each to incorporate into the mixture before adding the next one.
Add the Mahlep powder, Mastic, vanilla extract and orange juice mixture.
Scrape the sides of the mixer's bowl. Then start to add the milk gradually by slowing down the speed a bit.
Once fully combined transfer the mixture to a wide bowl.
Gradually add the flour mixture in batches using a flour sifter. Mixing with a silicone or wooden spoon after each batch. When the dough starts to become too firm to mix with a spoon start kneading it with your hands.
Once all the flour is mixed in you should end up with a really soft dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F.

Shape The Cookies:

Take a small piece of the dough (about 35 grams or 1 loaded tablespoon) and shape it into a ball squeezing it a bit to remove excess air.
Shape the ball into a long cord (about 25 cm long) and then into any of the shapes shown in the text above or in the recipe video.
Place cookies on a parchment paper covered sheet pan leaving 2-3 cm space in between.
Lightly beat the egg for the egg wash and then mix it with 2 tablespoons of water. Brush each cookie.

Bake:

Bake the cookies for about 20-25 minutes. Check the bottom of the cookies before taking them out of the oven. They should be golden brown at the bottom as well.
Cool the cookies on a cooling rack. Then store in airtight food containers or cookie tins.

Video

Notes

Note 1: If using Mastic tears, save 2 tablespoons of the sugar and blend in the blender together with the Mastic. Sugar helps Mastic to turn into powder instead of becoming chewy. Make sure your blender is dry without any moisture on it. Alternatively, you may use a pestle and mortar to grind the sugar and mastic tears into powder.

Nutrition