Greek clove cookies / Kourabiedes

This melt-in-your-mouth cookie is one the best cookies I have ever had..While I was searching for recipes with clove I landed upon several recipes for greek clove cookies and made my version tweeking the recipes a bit..They tasted really too good..The recipe called for brandy which I replaced with vanilla extract..They tasted best with tea..They are also called as Greek tea cakes..

               

Ingredients

Butter - 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
All purpose flour/maida - 1 cup
Vanilla extract - 1teaspoon
Ground cloves - 1 teaspoon
Mixture of powdered sugar and ground cloves

Directions

Soften the butter and mix it with the sugar in a large bowl.
Beat it till you get a creamy consistency.
Add the flour,vanilla,ground cloves and beat well until they are well mixed.
Cover and refridgerate for about 1 hour until it becomes firm.
Preheat the oven to 350 F
Shape the dough to one-inch balls
Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool completely.
Sprinkle the cookies with the mixture of powdered sugar and ground cloves..

This popular melt-in-your-mouth Greek cookie, Kourabiedes, is often served at festive holiday celebrations. The cookie is always sprinkled with powdered sugar and the top is either sprinkled with ground cloves or a whole clove is inserted in the top.

                                

Tips
To make these cookies softening butter is an important step..So not melt butter in the microwave as the cookies do not retain their shape..Instead, allow it to soften by rmoving it from the fridge and allowing it to stand for 30 to 45 minutes at room temperature..This yields perfect cookies..

             

This is my entry to Think Spice: Think Cloves hosted by Gretchen..