Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies)
This festive holiday cookie is a take on the classic Greek cookies my YiaYia made growing up. These Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies) are buttery, sweet, melt in your mouth mint chocolate cookies that are covered in powdered sugar!
If you're looking for more holiday cookies, be sure to check out some of my other favorites like Eggless Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies, Simple Christmas Shortbread Cookies, Peppermint Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Sourdough Jam Thumbprints.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies)
- Ready In: 35 minutes
- Makes: 48 cookies
- Main Ingredients: salted butter, powdered sugar, Dutch cocoa, peppermint extract
- Flavor Profile: buttery, chocolatey, minty melt in your mouth
- Dietary Info: no seed oils
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: better than any snowball cookies
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Greek Inspired: This recipe is inspired by my YiaYia's cookies growing up. The traditional Greek cookies Kourambiethes are the inspiration for this recipe. While the traditional Greek cookies don't have chocolate or peppermint, the texture and essence of the recipe is the same. If you want to try a more traditional take on them, check out my Cinnamon Pecan Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies).
- Melt In Your Mouth: These are melt in your mouth! While many wedding cookies or snowballs can be dry and crumbly, these are a melt in your mouth experience!
- Holiday Cookies: These are holiday inspired with the chocolate and peppermint! Making these organic cookies perfect for the holidays.
Jump to:
- A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- What are Kourambiethes (YiaYia Cookies)?
- Ingredients
- Baker’s Tips
- How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies)
- Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies) FAQ’s
- Serving Ideas
- More Holiday Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies)
- The Bake Shop
What are Kourambiethes (YiaYia Cookies)?
YiaYia means Grandma in Greek, so this is like saying Grandma's cookies! I'm one quarter Greek and my dad's mom, we called YiaYia as she was 100% Greek. You pronounce it like Yiy-Yiya.
Growing up, my YiaYia made traditional Greek cookies, Kourambiethes (pronounced KorUm-bI-ethies) cookies. But, all the kids could not pronounce them, so we just called them YiaYia cookies. While my Cinnamon Pecan Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies) are more similar to the traditional Kourambiethes cookies, these mint chocolate cookies are a delicious holiday version!
I have my traditional recipe for Kourambiethes in my book Cookies for Everyone. But, because it is the holidays, I thought a mint chocolate cookies would be absolutely amazing — and they is! These organic cookies are similar to an Italian wedding cookie or a snowball cookie, but they are so much better! These are not dry like those cookies can be, and they just melt in your mouth. I hope you love these Greek cookies as much as I do!
Ingredients
- Butter: I use Organic Valley Salted Butter. Be sure to use a high quality butter you like as there is a ton of butter in these organic cookies!
- Peppermint Extract: I use organic peppermint extract to give these mint chocolate cookies a cool peppermint flavor.
- Eggs: You'll just need a large egg yolk. You can save the egg white for another baking project, cook it up for your dog, or add it to your morning scramble.
- Cake Flour: I use my Homemade Organic Cake Flour, store bought also works. But, cake flour is key for these cookies, do not substitute it for all purpose as you need the lower protein content for a light, melt in your mouth cookie!
- Dutch Cocoa Powder: I use organic Dutch cocoa powder which gives these Greek cookies a rich chocolate flavor.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- Make sure your butter is soft. It should be soft enough that if you squish it, it squishes easily. I like to leave butter out on the counter overnight to let it soften at room temperature. But, if you are going to soften butter in the microwave, do not do more than 30 seconds per 1 pound of butter.
- Cake flour is essential for these cookies. So, this is definitely needed and don't replace it with all purpose flour or anything else. I make my own organic cake flour because it's so easy and it's the only organic option! Try my recipe for Homemade Organic Cake Flour.
- It's important to wait until these cookies cool before covering them in powdered sugar. If you put the powdered sugar on and they are too warm, it will just melt in. You want the powdered sugar to be a complete coating on the cookies, because it's the best part!
- High Altitude — Bake at 325°F for 17 to 20 minutes or until set and dry.
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies)
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and egg yolk.
- Mix on low until combined but chunks of butter remain visible.
- Add the cake flour, cocoa powder, and sea salt.
- Mix on low until combined into a smooth dough; it should feel like play dough in your hands.
- Using your hands, form the dough into 48 balls and place them close together on the prepared cookie sheets (they won’t spread while baking, so 24 should fit on each cookie sheet). Flatten each ball slightly. They should look like disks that are about 2 inches in diameter.
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until set and dry. Let cool completely on the cookie sheets.
- Sift powdered sugar generously over the tops of the cookies.
- Then they are ready to enjoy! Shop my Butter Sweatshirt!
Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies) FAQ's
Yes, just add 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt to the recipe.
Sifting powdered sugar (for both inside the cookie dough and on top of finished cookies) will ensure it's light and smooth and free of clumps. Powdered sugar can clump easily when stored, so sifting will remove these lumps and clumps, giving you a better texture.
Store in a cool dry place. They are best if just left out on a platter on the counter.
Serving Ideas
Cozy up with a warm mug of cocoa as it goes perfectly with these cookies as you definitely want a drink with them as they are covered in powdered sugar. Try them with Coconut Hot Chocolate or Caramel Hot Cocoa for a cozy pairing. Enjoy Bone Broth Hot Cocoa or Healthy Gingerbread Hot Cocoa with Bone Broth for a healthier twist. Or, try a traditional Creamy Dark Hot Chocolate With Homemade Whipped Cream!
Add these into DIY Christmas Cookie Box or make as part of a cookie exchange. These are always such a hit during the holidays!
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
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Chocolate Peppermint Kourambiethes (Greek Butter Cookies)
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer
- Half Sheet Pan
Ingredients
Dough
- 454 grams salted butter (softened)
- 142 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 large egg yolk
- 567 grams cake flour
- 71 grams Dutch cocoa powder (sifted)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Topping
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attach ment, add the butter, powdered sugar, peppermint extract, milk, and egg yolk. Mix on low until combined but chunks of butter remain visible.
- Add the cake flour, cocoa powder, and sea salt, and mix on low until combined into a smooth dough; it should feel like play dough in your hands.
- Using your hands, form the dough into 48 balls and place them close together on the prepared cookie sheets (they won’t spread while baking, so 24 should fit on each cookie sheet). Flatten each ball slightly. They should look like disks that are about 2 inches in diameter.
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until set and dry. Let cool completely on the cookie sheets.
- Sift powdered sugar generously over the tops of the cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Video
Notes
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- Make sure your butter is soft. It should be soft enough that if you squish it, it squishes easily. I like to leave butter out on the counter overnight to let it soften at room temperature. But, if you are going to soften butter in the microwave, do not do more than 30 seconds per 1 pound of butter.
- Cake flour is essential for these cookies. So, this is definitely needed and don't replace it with all purpose flour or anything else. I make my own organic cake flour because it's so easy and it's the only organic option! Try my recipe for Homemade Organic Cake Flour.
- It's important to wait until these cookies cool before covering them in powdered sugar. If you put the powdered sugar on and they are too warm, it will just melt in. You want the powdered sugar to be a complete coating on the cookies, because it's the best part!
- High Altitude — Bake at 325°F for 17 to 20 minutes or until set and dry.
Nutrition
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These chocolate cookies melt in your mouth! The addition of peppermint makes these a festive cookie for the holidays!
The perfect blend of chocolate and peppermint in my favorite Greek cookie!