Cretan Koulourakia Portokaliou (Κρητικά Κουλουράκια Πορτοκαλιού)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •two rimmed baking sheets, about 30x40cm
• •fine citrus grater
• •wire cooling rack
• •digital scale

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven

   Heat the oven to 175C, or 165C with fan. Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment. Set the sesame seeds in a shallow plate so the shaped dough can go straight into them.

2. 2

   Mix the orange

   Whisk the olive oil, sugar, orange zest, salt, cinnamon, and tsikoudia in a large bowl until the sugar is wet and the mixture looks cloudy. Stir the baking soda into the orange juice in a tall cup, because it will foam up, then pour it into the bowl and whisk again.

3. 3

   Make soft dough

   Whisk 600g flour with the baking powder. Add it to the orange mixture in three additions, folding with a spoon or your hand until a soft, oily dough forms. Stop there and let it rest for 20 minutes. This is the step that decides the cookie: the dough firms as it sits, so if you keep adding flour until it feels tidy at once, the baked koulourakia turn hard.

   After the rest, the dough should leave your fingers mostly clean but still feel supple. Add the extra flour only a spoonful at a time if it truly sticks.
4. 4

   Shape the twists

   Pinch off 25g pieces of dough. Roll each piece into an 18cm rope, fold it in half, and twist the two ends together, or close it into a small ring. Press one side lightly into the sesame seeds and set it on the tray, sesame side up, leaving 3cm between cookies.

5. 5

   Bake until gold

   Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, rotating the trays once, until the ridges are pale gold and the undersides are the color of honey. Don't chase deep browning. These are fasting koulourakia, not rusks. Let them sit on the tray for 10 minutes, then move them to a rack.

6. 6

   Cool and store

   Cool completely before storing, or the tin will trap moisture and soften the edges. Once cold, keep the koulourakia in an airtight tin for 10 to 14 days. They taste more settled the next morning, with the orange clearer and the oil calmer.

Chef Tips

• •Use unwaxed oranges because the zest carries the dish. If the oranges smell of nothing, wait for better fruit or make another nistisimo sweet. Carton juice gives you sweetness, not orange.
• •Choose a mild, fruity Greek olive oil. A very peppery early oil is beautiful on horta, but in these cookies it can push past the orange and become bossy.
• •Sesame is common in the Cretan oil-cookie family, but don't bury the dough in it. Press one side only. Liga kai kala: a few good things, and each one still tastes like itself.
• •On strict oil-less fasting days, this isn't the cookie. For the ordinary household Lenten tin and the oil-permitted days, it is exactly the kind of sweet that keeps without eggs or butter.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can rest covered for up to 1 hour at room temperature before shaping.
• •Bake the koulourakia up to 1 week ahead; they keep well in an airtight tin once completely cool.
• •Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months. Thaw uncovered, then refresh for 5 minutes in a 150C oven if you want the edges crisp again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 32g)