Yia Yia’s Greek Butter Cookies

Recipe by: Tara Moccio, Contest Finalist

These traditional Greek butter cookies, known as Koulourakis, are a popular dessert for the holidays. Yia Yia is Greek for "Grandma".

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Preheat oven to 350F
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and orange rind and mix well. Add 4 eggs one by one and beat until well incorporated. You may also use a hand mixer if a stand mixer is not available.
Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix all ingredients until a soft dough forms. If using a stand mixer, you may want to switch to a dough hook to best blend the dough.
Dough should be soft, but not sticky. If dough is too sticky add small amounts of extra flour (1 tablespoon at a time) until you can break off a piece of the dough and roll in a thin tube without dough sticking together.
Allow dough to rest for 2-3 minutes before shaping.
To shape cookies, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a walnut. Roll into a thin cord, about the length of a dinner knife. Fold dough in half and twist twice. You can also shape dough into coils or an "S" shape. Arrange cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet, or an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Beat remaining 2 eggs in a small bowl and add a teaspoon of water to the eggs. Brush cookies lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. You may skip this step if you choose not to use sesame seeds.
Bake cookies for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.