Sabrina’s second family growing up in Sydney was Greek, or so it must have seemed to everyone who knew her, as from 5th Grade onwards she spent so much time at her best friend Eleni’s house. Australia still has a very large population of Greek descent, but at the time Melbourne was the second largest “Greek city” in the world after Athens, and there was a large community in Sydney too.
Eleni’s parents were so strict that she wasn’t really allowed to go out in the evenings, so Sabrina hung out with her at home as often as possible and whenever her best friend was off school sick, she would forge her mother’s signature on a doctor’s note that she’d written herself, so she could leave school early to spend time with her sick friend.
A regular fixture at their home on major Greek holidays and Saints Days and every family celebration, Sabrina quickly learned to bake traditional Greek goodies like Kourabiedes, those sublime crescent-shaped almond shortbread cookies, which are especially popular at Christmastime. Magiritsa, the hearty soup that breaks the traditional Lenten fast at Eastertime and Egg and Spinach Sour Soup were other staples she learned from Eleni’s mother’s repertoire.
Eleni’s purdah-like situation couldn’t last, and at the tender age of 19, she got engaged and was quickly married to a local Greek plumber. Considerably older (but not wiser), he reputedly kept all his money in a suitcase under their bed! That marriage is long over but happy memories of their friendship have endured and wherever we’ve lived Sabrina has baked Kourabiedes as small gifts to give to friends at Christmastime.
Kourabiedes: Makes around 30 Cookies
½ cup slivered almonds
1 cup salted butter
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tbsp brandy or vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet; toast until lightly golden. Remove and let cool before grinding into fine granules.
Lower the temperature in the oven to 325 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and creamy. Add the egg yolk with the 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mix until the dough comes together. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
Pinch off 1” balls to form 3” “logs” and then shape them into crescents. Place them on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake them for 30 minutes or until lightly golden. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and sift powdered sugar on the paper. Place the cookies on the powdered sugar and sift more powdered sugar over the top of the cookies.
When the cookies have cooled down, transfer to a serving platter. Sift any remaining powdered sugar over them one final time to make sure they are fully coated.