Η συνταγή και στα ελληνικά στο τέλος της ανάρτησης!

Life, sometimes, has a very weird way of revealing persons and things totally unexpectedly. Usually, a person is able of making friends at his/her adolescence and these friendships can last forever. Nevertheless, it just so happens that life brings into your path a person, who is meant to find a place into your heart as a dear friend even at an older age.

Friendship is crucial in everyone’s life and friends can support and encourage you to your continuous strive to survive.

In ancient Greece the most famous story of such a friendship was that of Damon and Phidias.

These two persons were Greek philosophers and lived in Sicily. One day the tyrant of Syracuse Dionysus accused Phidias of conspiracy and convicted him to death. Phidias asked for a postponement of his punishment in order to fulfil his obligations towards his family. Dionysus refused and insisted in executing the punishment. Phidias’ friend Damon gave then a very brave and full of love for his friend solution. He offered himself as collateral until Phidias was able to return and assume his death penalty. That is, he offered to take Phidias’ place until he returned. Dionysus accepted the offer and Phidias left to arrange all his obligations.

Time was passing by and the day of the execution arrived and Phidias hadn’t returned yet. Damon was prepared to be decapitated. Just before the punishment was about to be executed, Phidias arrived and asked to take his place.

The weird thing was that Damon insisted on dying in his friend’s place since the deadline has elapsed. On the other hand, Phidias was inexorable and asked to assume his responsibility. Dionysus was so touched by the true friendship and altruism of these two men, that not only did he spare both their lives, but he asked to become their friend too.

Sometimes, when you meet a person you just know it in your heart that this person can become a strong and loyal friend to you. This exact thing happened to me one year ago when I met Nectaria. She was a casual acquaintance just like the ones we do every day in our lives. Talking to her and mingling with her, made me realize that we have lived almost parallel lives and she is one of these persons who can leave a significant mark in my life.

Nectaria used to have a pastry shop but because of the economic crisis and her need to see her child more, she decided to close it down. Nevertheless, she managed to keep all these delicious recipes she was making in her shop. These Kourabiedes is one of them. This past Sunday she came to my home and we made a whole bunch of Christmas cookies which I will share with you in this and my next posts. And not only that, but we also went to my photography teacher’s studio and we took our pictures there. It was such a fun day and we had a great time baking the goodies and photograph them in a real studio. For this post I want to thank my friend Nectaria for the recipe and Panayiotis Beltzinitis for his incredible help not only with these photos, but also with every photo I shoot. In one of my next posts, I will tell you all about my magical trip to the world of photography. For the time being, let’s take a look at these Kourabiedes and see how we made them.

 

Kourabiedes

 

Ingredients

250gr/ 8.8 oz unsalted butter at room temperature

250gr/8.8 oz granulated sugar

A pinch of salt

285gr /10 oz olive oil

3 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 large egg

2 tbsp /1.1 oz ouzo

140 gr/ 5oz chopped roasted unsalted almonds

1000 gr /10 oz all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

Topping

Flower water and ouzo for spraying the cookies

500 gr / 17.6 oz confectioners’ sugar for coating the cookies

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.

Mix together flour, almonds, baking powder and set aside.

In a large bowl beat together the butter, sugar, and salt, until soft and fluffy. (about 10 minutes)

Beat in the olive oil, vanilla and almond extracts.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix at medium speed for another 2 minutes.

Beat in the egg and ouzo and continue beating for another minute.

At low speed, stir in the flour mixture to make a crumbly dough.

Don’t over mix, just until all liquid is absorbed.

Take a small amount of dough and shape into a rounded ball and flatten to about 5cm/ 2 inches across.

Place the balls on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2,5cm/ 1 inch between them.

Bake the cookies for about 25-30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and spray cookies with flower water and ouzo, then roll them in the confectioners’ sugar.

Allow to cool completely and store them in airtight container at room temperature. They will stay good for at least 2 weeks. 

Sprinkle them with confectioners’ sugar again just before serving, if desired.