Easter Izmir Cookies

This is a traditional Greek recipe that dates back more than a century and its origins are traced in the Turkish city Izmir. There, the Greek community would bake these cookies every Easter, among with other traditional desserts. Nowadays you can find them thought the year, as they pair nicely with coffee.

• 300 g butter (room temperature)
• 250 g sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp cognac
• 200 g orange juice
• 900 g flour
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• orange zest from 1 orange

For preparation before baking

• 1 egg yolk with some water

1. In a large bowl add the butter and the sugar.
2. Mix nicely with your hand for a few minutes.
3. Add the yolks and continue mixing.
4. Add the orange juice, the vanilla extract, the cognac, the orange zest and continue mixing.
5. Slowly start adding flour while mixing at the same time.
6. Add the baking powder and a pinch of salt.
7. Continue mixing until you have a homogeneous mixture.

1. Preheat the oven on 180 C, on air.
2. Cover the mixture with some cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.
3. Butter 2 pans to bake your cookies (if your pan is big enough you may only need one).
4. Mix an egg yolk with some water to coat the cookies before baking.

1. Firstly you take a small piece of the mixture and roll it (as shown in the picture).
2. Now you can create any shape that you want and I have given some inspiration in the pictures.
3. If you wish to keep it traditional, the original cookies had the shape the two cookies sitting on the silver pan.

1. You coat the cookies using a brush with the watery egg yolk.
2. Then you put them in the oven (180 C degrees) and bake them for 25 - 30 minutes.

You can enjoy your cookies!