Koulourakia recipe - Greek biscuits

Whenever I think of Greece, I picture myself sitting on my balcony in Samos Island facing the sea, sipping a Greek coffee with a koulouraki first thing in the morning. No wonder they call the Greek islands paradise!

I grew up eating koulourakia. From a young age even before I drank coffee or even liked it, I remember dipping koulourakia in my mum’s cup in the morning.

They are extremely popular in Greece and can be found in almost every bakery across the country. It is very traditional to bring them to people’s houses when you are invited round and I have so many memories of aunties and uncles turning up with boxes upon boxes full of freshly baked koulourakia. The big fat Greek family...exists!

If you like dunking your biscuits in coffee or tea, then you will love this recipe, as they are extremely crunchy so perfect for that quick dip before eating.

In Greece, people traditionally ate them at Easter, however as they have become so popular they are eaten almost everyday. I personally enjoy them with my coffee in the morning however they are also great for that afternoon treat when you are having that work slump at your desk around 3/4pm and need a sugar boost!

For something that is so popular and easy to find in Greece, it is actually surprisingly hard to find them in London. Luckily, they are super easy to make!

Gloomy Sundays in London are for baking, so here is my super duper easy recipe for Greek Koulourakia:

Ingredients for roughly 48 Koulourakia

250 grams butter (make sure its room temperature)

200 grams sugar

2 eggs for the mix & 2 eggs for glazing

1 grated orange zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

500 grams flour

2 tsp baking powder

Sesame seeds for the topping (optional – but I love them)

Baking paper

Instructions

1. Mix together the butter and sugar

2. Mix in the vanilla extract and orange zest

3. Beat in the 2 eggs, one at a time

4. Add the flour slowly, whisk continuously

5. Add the baking powder and mix all together

6. Knead the dough with your hands to ensure that all the flour is mixed in

7. The dough shouldn’t stick to your hands and needs to be firm - if it is a bit sticky add some more flour

8. Preheat your oven to 175 C

9. Place the dough for the koulourakia on a clean work surface (I always sprinkle a bit of flour on the surface to stop it sticking)

10. You can make whatever shape you like but if you want to keep it traditional and braid the dough like I do: break off a small ball of dough about the size of a chestnut and roll out the dough into a long thin string until it’s about 2cm thick (hopefully my photo below is a good guide)

11. Shape the string into a U shape and twist each piece around to braid. It isn’t as hard as it sounds…trust me!

12. Line your baking tray with baking paper

13. Lay out the koulourakia on the baking paper and make sure they are not touching

14. Whisk the 2 remaining eggs in a bowl

15. Brush the top of the koulourakia with the egg – this will give your koulourakia that shiny golden brown colour!

16. Bake for 10 minutes

17. Remove from oven and brush on some more egg

18. Bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown

19. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional)

Leave them to cool down before you move them anywhere. They can last up to 3 weeks in an airtight container - so plenty of biscuits for dunking!

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