Koulourakia – Greek Easter Cookies

Greek Easter cookies are light and crumbly with a hint of citrus. Also known as Koulourakia, they’re made from easy baking staples, kid-friendly and so easy to make!

Why We Love This

Koulourakia have a deliciously crumbly texture and slightly-sweet flavour. The refreshing citrus burst will have you raiding the cookie jar again and again this Easter!

It’s such a family-friendly recipe and especially good for kids to enjoy a fun afternoon of baking. The dough is super easy to make, and it’s so much fun to make all the different shapes.

You can even make a double batch and freeze the dough OR the baked biscuits for later.

For more Easter baking fun, try this Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake to serve alongside them! Or for the Italian version, check out our Sicilian Cuddura.

What are Koulourakia? 

The name koulourakia comes from the Greek word kouloura, meaning a loop or twist, just like the shapes of the biscuits themselves.

Koulourakia are a traditional Greek easter cookie (sometimes baked as Christmas treats too). They’re similar in essence to Italian cuddura biscuits which are also made at Easter.

The dough is made from a simple base of flour, butter, sugar and eggs, but there are lots of traditional variations when it comes to shapes and subtle flavours.

The basic/original Koulourakia recipe calls for a dash of vanilla essence, with some versions including freshly grated lemon or orange zest. For our take on Koulourakia we’ve mixed things up with a sprinkling of one of our favourite spices – sumac – see ingredients section below for more info.

What You’ll Need

All you need is a few everyday baking essentials for the base dough: flour and baking powder, softened butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla essence. We’ll also be using:

• Lemon zest – Fresh lemon zest is so fragrant, adding a beautiful lemony flavour all on it’s own. You can add as much or as little as you like depending on the strength or subtlety of flavour you’re after. Sub with orange zest, or a couple of tbsp of lemon or orange juice if you need.
• Sumac – This is a powdered spice made from dried Middle Eastern berries, adding a tart citrus burst while offsetting some of that sweetness in the cookies. It’s usually available in the spice section of your supermarket or you can buy sumac online.

How to Make Greek Easter Cookies:

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1. Preheat your oven to 180˚C / 350˚F. Add the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and combine using a wooden spoon, or use an electric beater on medium high until smooth and creamy. Add the lemon zest, vanilla essence and sumac, stirring until combined.
2. Crack in the eggs and mix through (or blend on low) until evenly incorporated. Add 1 cup of flour along with the baking powder and stir through. Continue adding the remaining flour a bit at a time until the dough is soft but not too sticky.
3. Transfer dough onto to a clean surface and knead with your hands for a few minutes until smooth and even. Cover with cling film and rest for 20 mins.

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4. To make your dough shapes, take a small handful of dough and form into a ball with your hands, then roll out into a thin strip around 15 cm long x 1.5 cm wide. Twist into braids, roll up into spirals or ‘S’ shapes, or form them into any shape your heart desires! Watch our video for a step by step guide to rolling each shape.
5. Transfer cookie shapes on a lined baking tray. Brush with milk and garnish with any of the toppings you want to use (see recipe card below for ideas). Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown, then transfer to a cooling rack.

How to Shape Koulourakia

Once you’ve created your cookie dough, Koulourakia can be made in a variety of different shapes – from the traditional to the more… creative. However, they all start from the same basic method, which is to take a small amount of Koulourakia dough in your hands, form it into a ball,  and roll it into a strip about 15cm long by 1.5cm thick.

It takes a little more work than a simple flat cookie, but it’s also a heck of a lot more fun. Almost like play-doh you can eat. Below are some of the more traditional shapes, but in all honesty we figure they’ll taste good no matter how you shape them. 

• Traditional Braid – To master this shape, simply take your dough strip and bend it in half, then give it two little twists. You should end up with a cute little braid or “key” shape.
• Snails – Yep, that’s our silly name for this shape – you could probably call these flat spirals, but ‘snails’ sounds more fun. Simply take a strip of dough, and roll it up until you’ve created a flat spirally snail. (Adding a snail head or tail is, of course, completely optional.) 
• S’s & O’s – Just like snails, the ‘S’ shape is created by rolling the dough up into a flat spiral, but this time you’ll roll it up from each end towards the centre, in opposite directions. And for the O’s, all you need to do is form a simple circle shape just like a doughnut and you’re done. Easy!
• Cheat’s Spirals – Make a regular circle cookie shape, then use two different-sized jars to gently press circles on top. Check out our coffee scrolls biscuits to see this in action.

Wandercook’s Tips

• Dough – If the dough becomes too dry to work with, add a little more butter. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If you’re still unsure, watch our video above to see the texture you’re looking for.
• Space – Make sure there’s a gap of at least 2-3 cm / 1 inch space around each cookie when placing them on the baking tray, as they will expand while baking.
• Dunk in Tea or Coffee – It’s a match made in heaven!
• Give them as Gifts – Make up a big batch to gift to family and friends.

FAQs

Variations

• Creative Toppings – Traditionally, Koulourakia cookies are brushed with beaten egg for a crispy golden shine. But if you’re looking to amp things up, you might like to try:
  • Icing Sugar – Try just a light sprinkling or dust liberally for extra sweetness.
  • Sesame Seeds – a hint of savoury deliciousness.
  • Sliced Almonds – Nutty goodness and extra crunch.
  • Sprinkles – Non-traditional but lots of colour and fun, especially for little ones!
  • Extra Golden – Brush egg yolk instead of milk.
• Alcoholic Koulourakia – To make the naughty version (also known as koulourakia methismena) add in a shot of ouzo, frangelico or whatever liqueur takes your fancy!

Try these festive baking recipes next:

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