Growing up, not one Christmas went by without a tin of these in our pantry.

My Greek grandmother baked them for us, and I remember her meticulous approach to cooking and baking. She would lay everything out so neatly on the kitchen counter, and every movement of her hand was careful and considered, just like in her crafts.

These biscuits are made of a short pastry (i.e. butter, flour and sugar rubbed together), and are traditionally shaped in rounds or crescents. My grandmother used a glass to cut out the crescents, but I make them into rounds as I’m usually in a hurry and this is much quicker.

When I have seen these in Greece, they looked (and sometimes also tasted) quite plain. What I believe made my Grandmother’s version of these biscuits so special is the addition of a whole clove into each biscuit. The longer they stay in the tin, the more they will become infused with this flavour. And I have to admit that I quite enjoy chewing on the actual clove after eating the biscuit.

Kourambiedes Recipe

Makes about 25 biscuits

Ingredients

300 g self raising flour

150g icing sugar (plus about 250g to scatter over the finished biscuits)

100g almonds

225g butter

25 cloves

Method

Start by blanching the almonds: boil them in water for a few minutes, until you can see the skin bubbling up. Rinse under cold water and squeeze each almond out of its skin. Rinse again and pat dry with a tea towel. Chop each almond into two or three pieces.

Spread the almond pieces on a baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for about 8 – 10 minutes until they are light brown. Leave to cool.

Combine the butter and icing sugar with a handheld mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the flour and continue mixing (it will look crumbly).

Add the cooled toasted almonds and shape small balls, about the size of a walnut shell, and place them on the baking tray.

Stick a clove into each biscuit and bake at 150 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Allow the biscuits to cool on the tray. Once cool, transfer them into a tin lined with parchment paper. Scatter a lot of icing sugar over them and store.