Buttery, crumbly, and aromatic these traditional Greek Easter Cookies are so delicious and beautifully shaped.

Koulourakia — **Greek Easter Cookies Recipe**

Happy Easter everyone! I was really in a hurry to finish writing this recipe while doing all the holiday cooking. So, here is the most fun to make Greek Easter cookies recipe. You knead them into any shape you like, which makes them a fun way to spend some time with the kids (I know I really used to enjoy making them when I was younger).

Table Of Contents

How To Make
Flavorings
The Traditional Greek Easter
Storing
Recipe

How To Make

To make the best Greek Easter Cookies you need to make their butter really soft. To do this the most important thing is to properly cream the butter together with the sugar right in the beginning.

You need to let it beat for at least 10 whole minutes on your electric mixer to become really soft and fluffy. And then you can start adding the remaining ingredients. Like milk, orange juice and zest, eggs, flour (sifted), the flavorings, and leavening agents (baking soda and baking powder).

Resting the dough before shaping is also important as it gives time to activate the baking powder.

Flavorings

They’re so crispy when you take a bite, and then they start to melt in your mouth. They also contain an unusual aroma, that of Mahleb. Mahleb is an aromatic spice made from the seeds of a species of cherry and is also used in our traditional sweet braided bread, called “Tsoureki” which is made on Easter as well.

This comforting sweet spice is what makes me think of Easter when I smell it. Like cloves and cinnamon reminds me of Christmas.
And let’s admit it, what are Holidays worth, if it wasn’t for all this lovely food that we’re making? Can you imagine Thanksgiving without a turkey? Or Christmas without gingerbread? Not really…

Especially in Greece, we really like to grab every chance we get to have a “Glenti” (The word for a Greek party with friends and family) with lots of food.

Koulourakia Pasxalina Greek Easter Cookies

I also included a mini step-by-step pic-guide for the different shapes we make here in Greece.

Greek Cookie Shape 1 — **1 (The dummy's shape)**

Greek Cookie Shape 3 — **3 ( The " I look very Greek" cookie)**

Greek Cookie Shape 4 — **4 ( The " I look very Greek" cookie number 2 )**

Greek Cookie Shape 5 — **5 ( The bow cookie )**

The Traditional Greek Easter

And because Greeks are Orthodox, Easter is one of the biggest celebrations of all. For 2 whole days, this big “Glenti” takes on, in everyone’s backyard.

On the first day of “Pasha” (Easter), every household in Greece has a whole lamb on the spit. And most people have some “kokoretsi” as well. The music is on, from early in the morning, playing very old and traditional Greek songs (if you ever saw the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding“ then you know what I’m talking about). I literally step out of the house, and the music can be heard, all around the neighborhood, coming from almost every home.

And like in every Greek celebration, big carafes of wine are on the table. And right in the center, you find a basket filled with the Greek Koulourakia (these Greek Easter cookies recipe), “Tsoureki” and red-dyed eggs. Already waiting, to treat every guest that comes to say “Xronia Polla”, in this case, it translates to “Happy Easter”.

HAVE YOU DYED EASTER EGGS YET?

If not, you may want to try these naturally dyed Easter eggs using onion skins. And skip all the chemicals from commercial dyes.

Go To Recipe ⟶

So having started in the morning, this celebration takes place until late in the afternoon. When most, just drag themselves back to their home for a much-needed siesta.

All in all, these Greek Easter Cookies are the centerpiece of everyone's Greek Easter celebration table, and they are for a reason. They are truly scrumptious!

Storing

You can keep Koulourakia for up to a month in an airtight food container at room temperature. I prefer using good old-fashioned cookie tins to store cookies. Their texture never spoils even after a long time when stored this way.

Recipe