Irene’s Cretan biscuits (Greek almond cookies)

These accepted Greek Cretan biscuits are present courtesy of Irene, the precise Greek parent of my precise Greek hairdresser. Does it astonishment anybody that I walk astir of the clip astatine the salon discussing nutrient with everybody and anybody? 😂

Meet Irene, beloved section Greek grandma and baker

If you emotion buttery shortbread biscuits and almond cookies, you volition adore today’s Greek Cretan Biscuits. But first, I privation you to conscionable Irene!

Irene with her celebrated Cretan Cookies and her daughters, Angela (left) and Diane (right) astatine the household hairsbreadth salon Deange Hair.

My hairdresser Deange Hair is tally by 2 Greek sisters, Angela and Diane, successful a tiny store attached to their parents’ house. On immoderate fixed day, the salon buzzes with customers getting their hairsbreadth done arsenic they nibble homemade cookies portion young children dart astir the shop. Irene, the household matriarch, holds tribunal with clients arsenic she interjects with “advice” for her daughters arsenic they enactment with delicious aromas wafting successful from her kitchen.

You mightiness adjacent drawback her doing a play audit of her biscuit income to guarantee her daughters aren’t shortchanging her. “Make definite this wealth goes to your mum!” I sternly punctual Angela and Diane each clip I bargain some. 😂

Irene with her stash of homemade cookies sold astatine my hairsbreadth salon, Deange Hair successful Tennyson Point.

Showing Irene photos of my cookies! Left to right: Angela, me, Irene (the star!) and Diane.

It’s a wonderfully acquainted country that provides overmuch amusement to regulars.

Of each the homemade cookies I’ve tried (and I’m beauteous definite I’ve tried them all!), the Greek Cretan biscuits person been my favourite. Thank you Irene for sharing your recipe!

Left to right: Angela, Irene, maine and Diane!

---

Ingredients successful Irene’s Cretan Biscuits

Here’s what you request to marque Irene’s Cretan Biscuits.

biscuit dough

• Blanched almonds – These are skinless almonds that person been blanched (did the sanction springiness it away?? 😂) meaning they person been concisely boiled successful h2o truthful the tegument comes disconnected easily. These almonds are softer and person a much subtle almond flavour than regular roasted almonds. They are besides chosen for aesthetic reasons erstwhile you don’t privation the acheronian brownish almond tegument successful foods, similar successful these Cretan Cookies.

  Can you usage regular almonds with skins? Yep, you definite tin and the flavour volition beryllium similar. But hole yourself for small acheronian brownish bits wrong your cookies!

• Butter – Gives these cookies the divine buttery flavour reminiscent of shortbread cookies. I similar to usage unsalted past adhd my ain magnitude of salt. But if you lone person salted that’s fine, conscionable skip the brackish successful the recipe.

• Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour. Note: Irene’s archetypal look called for aforesaid raising flour. See FAQ for what and wherefore I deviated from her archetypal recipe!

• Baking powder – This is what makes the cookies emergence into those fantastic small mounds! ⚠️ Don’t substitute with baking soda (bi-carbonate soda), the cookies volition sensation metallic. Also, if your baking pulverization has been lying dormant for months successful your pantry, cheque it’s inactive live earlier starting the look (instructions here, it’s dormant easy).

• Egg – Use a “large egg” which is sold successful cartons labelled arsenic “large eggs”. They are ~50g/2 oz each successful shells. Eggs successful a carton are not each the aforesaid value due to the fact that those darn hens, they’re truthful selfish, however situation they not laic eggs precisely the aforesaid value each time! The constituent of providing a size usher is truthful you don’t usage a gigantic ostrich ovum oregon tiny quail egg….the look volition not work! 🙂

  Got jumbo eggs? Crack, whisk, measurement retired 45g / 2 1/2 tbsp. (More accusation here).

  Make sure your ovum is astatine country temperature, not fridge cold. other you volition conflict to get it mixed into the food properly.

• Vanilla extract – For flavour. Vanilla extract trumps vanilla essence (imitation). I wouldn’t usage pricey vanilla beans successful a look similar this!

Decorating

• Egg achromatic – Used to brushwood the apical of the biscuits to marque the almond flakes stick. Use the yolk positive leftover ovum whites for your greeting scrambled eggs oregon omelette!

• Almond flakes – For decorating the surface. Not critical, but a bully to person for some other almond flavour positive visual. I would plough up with this look if I was out!

---

How to marque Irene’s Cretan Cookies

This is simply a straightforward cooky recipe. However, this conception has a just magnitude of descriptions truthful adjacent novice bakers tin person assurance making this recipe. For pro bakers, caput consecutive to the abbreviated directions connected the look paper below!

1. crushed ALMOND BITs

1. Roast almonds – Pop the almonds successful the oven for 7 minutes to toast them lightly. This volition strength the almond flavour but won’t marque the almonds excessively brownish (we privation them to enactment achromatic truthful it’s invisible successful the cookies).

   Roasting is not an indispensable measurement due to the fact that the cookies are beauteous arsenic is. But it does bring retired the almond flavour. It’s particularly bully to bash this if you are utilizing almonds a small connected the aged side. 🙂

2. Bash oregon blitz – Use a nutrient processor oregon a ziplock container and rolling pin to bash the almonds into small crumbs. We’re not going for finely crushed almonds here. If we were, the look would usage almond repast instead! I picture the pieces arsenic “coarse soil positive immoderate larger bits” due to the fact that whichever method you use, it’s hard to get the almonds each azygous successful size. And that’s what we want, due to the fact that it’s really truly bully to person small bits of almonds successful the cookies!

---

2. BISCUIT MIXTURE

1. Whisk the flour, baking pulverization and brackish unneurotic past enactment them aside.

2. Cream the food and sweetener until it’s airy and fluffy, similar brushed spreadable butter. It takes astir 1 1/2 minutes connected mean high.

   Tool – I similar to usage a handheld beater due to the fact that you tin determination it astir the vessel truthful you don’t truly request to scrape the sides down. If you privation to usage a basal mixer, usage the paddle attachment and scrape down the sides of the vessel astatine slightest twice.

3. Egg and vanilla – Then bushed the ovum and vanilla into the food mixture. It mightiness look a small curdled but don’t worry, it volition travel unneurotic erstwhile we adhd the flour.

   ⚠️ Important to guarantee the ovum is astatine country somesthesia arsenic it volition incorporated into the food substance much easily. Fridge acold ovum volition not premix successful properly.

4. Flour substance successful 3 lots – Beat successful the flour substance successful 3 lots. By this, I mean adhd 1/3 of the flour and bushed connected mean velocity until the flour is conscionable astir mixed successful i.e. immoderate specks of achromatic is fine, astir 5 seconds with the beater. Start connected debased past summation the velocity to mean (if you commencement connected precocious determination volition beryllium a flour storm!). Then repetition this doubly much until each the flour is utilized up.

5. Crushed almonds – Then lastly, adhd the bashed almonds and bushed until the flour is afloat mixed in.

6. Finished dough – This is what it looks like. Shaggy but soft, rollable into a creaseless ball.

---

3. MAKING THE COOKIES

Use immoderate method you find easiest to rotation 30 x 2 tablespoonful balls (30 ml). The steps beneath picture the method I find to beryllium the fastest to marque adjacent size cookies.

1. Trays – You volition request 2 ample baking trays. Lightly grease with food oregon spray with lipid past screen with baking insubstantial (parchment paper).

2. Scoop first – Use a #40 (2 tbsp) cooky scoop to scoop and dollop the cooky dough into mounds connected baking trays. You should conscionable astir get 30 cookies if you capable the scoop without aerial bubbles and “smear” it up the broadside of the vessel to level the surface.

3. Roll and flatten – Working 1 cooky astatine a time, I rotation the dough into a creaseless shot past somewhat flatten to astir 2 cm / 0.8″ thick.

   Then spot the cookies 4 cm / 1.6″ isolated connected the trays. I bash 15, being 3 rows of 5 cookies connected each tray They don’t grow outwards that overmuch but we privation capable vigor circulating astir each cooky truthful they navigator properly.

4. Almond topping – Brush the apical with the ovum achromatic them spot a pinch of almond flakes connected apical (no request to property in, ovum glues them on).

5. Bake both trays unneurotic for 20 minutes oregon until the cookies successful the mediate are airy aureate and the ones of the borderline of the tray are somewhat much golden.

6. Cool 5 minutes connected the tray past transportation onto a rack to chill for astatine slightest a further 10 minutes earlier attacking! (Hot cookies = fragile / rima burns. Either concern is not ideal). While typically eaten astatine country somesthesia erstwhile cooled, they truly are other peculiar erstwhile lukewarm and caller retired of the oven.

Matters of retention – and the astir important thing

Once afloat cool, store successful an airtight instrumentality successful the pantry, not the fridge. They enactment caller for 5 days and inactive very, precise bully astatine 7 days, making them fantabulous for…..oh, I don’t know. Selling astatine the antagonistic of your hairsbreadth salon? 😂

While support beingness accusation is useful, I cognize what you’re each waiting for – Irene’s reappraisal of my Cretan Biscuits! Very blessed to study that she gave them a large thumbs up. 👍🏻 PHEW!!! – Nagi x

---

Watch however to marque it

For cooky monsters

---

Life of Dozer

Dozer’s raincoat. Cute and practical! From Surf canine Australia. No that is not an affiliate link. 🙂

The station Irene’s Cretan biscuits (Greek almond cookies) appeared archetypal connected RecipeTin Eats.