Ingredients:

• 500 gm butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar (or less depending on how sweet you like your biscuits)
• 3 eggs, and one extra for glazing
• 3/4 – 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• Ikg self raising flour
• Mastixa – 1 or 2 crystals
• 2 cups sesame seeds

Method:

Grind mastica in mortar and pestle to add to flour.

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time while still beating.  Add most of flour and all of orange juice alternately.  Mix with hands until a smooth and firm dough results.  You will need to judge the amount of flour to add to the wet mixture as it needs to be just enough so that the mixture is able to be shaped.   Let rest in the fridge for 20 mins (not absolutely necessary).

Take small pieces of the dough and roll long, thin shapes (18-20cm).  If making the sesame type, the sesame seeds should be brought to the boil in a saucepan, strained into a sieve and placed on a clean tea towel.  They need to be wet in order to stick on to the dough.

Roll the shapes in the damp sesame seeds before they are shaped and baked.

Shape the dough into whatever shape(s) you prefer – some of the various options are shown below. They should be quite dainty as they increase in size during the baking process.

 

These can be brushed with egg wash, or coated with sesame seeds (my preference).

 

Line trays with baking paper, space biscuits well away from each other as they rise in the oven and bake in a moderate oven for 20-25 minutes until light golden brown.

Once they are cooked and cooled, they should be put back into a very slow 140-150 degree oven to crisp – around 40 minutes. They should not take on any extra colour.

Finished Koulourákia cooling on trays.  Note the difference between the shiny, egg glazed ones and the unglazed sesame.