This is hands down one of my favorite cookie recipes! My grandmother used to make these on occasion, but I never liked them because typically they are a hard, dry cookie. Years ago I found this recipe, and these are melt in your mouth good! What could be better than a soft vanilla butter cookie?
I make these every year for Christmas, but Kouourakia is a traditional Greek Easter cookie. Sometimes I make them for Easter as well. Sometimes I just make them for the heck of it! If you prefer a crispier cookie, cook them for the recommended length of time on the recipe. Since I don’t like crispy cookies, I only bake them for about 10-11 minutes until the bottoms are brown. Trust me, although a little time consuming, this recipe is worth it and everyone that tries them will love them.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/koulourakia-butter-cookie-braids/10581/
If the dough is really difficult to work with and keeps sticking to your fingers, just refrigerate it first. I often split the dough in half so that the half I am not working with can stay in the refrigerator until I am ready for it.
Take a little dough (the recipe states walnut size), make it into a ball in your hands, then roll it along the cutting board with the palm of your hand until it makes a long roll. Then I shape them into S’s and braids. You can put them fairly close together on the cookie sheet as they don’t increase much in size. Then be prepared to not be able to stop eating them once you start. So good!
