Butter Cookies / Kourabiéthes

Butter cookies are very popular year-round in Greece. At Christmastime, they are topped with whole cloves to symbolize the spices brought to the baby Jesus by the Wise Men.

2½ c. all-purpose flour
1 teaspooon baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
½ c. sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
powdered sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and egg until light and fluffy. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until well blended. Add vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.*
4. With your hands, form dough into balls, crescents, or -shapes, using about ½ tbsp. at a time.
5. Place cookies 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Put cookie sheet on middle oven rack and bake 15 minutes, or until barely brown around the edges.
6. Remove cookies from cookie sheet with spatula and cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.
7. With a flour sifter, sprinkle powdered sugar over cookies.

Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

*For a variation, add ½ c. chopped blanched almonds to the soft dough.