I was a little surprised by the amount of email my April 10 column generated from enthusiastic readers commenting about the Greek recipe I provided for the sweet Easter bread tsoureki. Indeed, as you can see for yourself, the whole tsoureki recipe-a-thon got a bit out of hand here in Maine…

Still, in response to several readers’ requests for even more recipes, here is another seasonal Greek recipe for koulourakia. These are basically vanilla shortbread biscuits that you would commonly find in a Greek household both at Christmas and Easter.

This is yet another recipe taken from my mother’s rather extensive catalogue mastery of Greek, Polish and American cuisine. For variation you could add ingredients like rose water, orange juice, cinnamon and cloves but I prefer the basic recipe below.

Enjoy!

Greek Easter Biscuits – Vanilla Koulourakia

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1-cup sugar
¾ cup soft butter
1-teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons milk
4-5 cups self-raising flour
Sesame seeds

Crack 4 eggs – reserving the white of one egg.

Beat 3 whole eggs, the left over egg yolk and the sugar until light and fluffy.

Add butter by spoonfuls and beat mixture about 5 minutes.

Stir in the milk, flour and vanilla (add more vanilla to taste if desired).

Work with hands until the dough is smooth – add extra flour if needed, but not too much or it will toughen up the mixture. Chill the dough for an hour.

Form the dough into braids, rings, or any other preferred shape.

Arrange the biscuits well spaced apart on baking sheets (the dough will expand while cooking).

Brush the biscuits with beaten egg white and sprinkle them with sesame seeds and a bit of sugar.

Bake in a 350F/180C oven for about 18-20 mins until golden.

Note: Keep a close eye on the biscuits while cooking as individual oven temperatures may vary- leave them in too long, let them brown, and they will easily become dry and hard.

Simply double the recipe as needed for a larger finished batch.

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