“Christmas Eve in the Baz household means one cookie and one cookie only: crumbly, sugar-dusted Greek kourabiedes,” says Molly Baz. “No one in the family can remember why (we’re not even Greek!), but every year, like clockwork, my mom pulls out the tattered recipe from an overstuffed manila folder and gets to work. Half the cookies go on a plate for Santa—along with carrot sticks for his reindeer (yes, I am still a whole-hearted believer)—and the rest disappear over the next few days. But this year I’ll switch things up, replacing the walnuts with pistachios, the cloves with subtler bay leaves, and the powdered sugar with a sleek sugar glaze. The result looks nothing like the original, but something tells me Santa won’t mind.”
Ingredients
Makes 30
Step 1
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Cook butter and bay leaves in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, swirling occasionally, until milk solids are a deep amber color and butter smells very nutty, 6–8 minutes. (Be careful, it may sputter!) Fish out and discard bay leaves. Pour butter into a medium bowl, scraping in any browned bits. Set bowl with butter over a large bowl filled with ice water; let cool, stirring often, until slightly cooler than room temperature (not until hard), 15–20 minutes. (Or chill in fridge about 1 hour.)
Step 2
Meanwhile, toast ⅓ cup pistachios on a large rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, 10–13 minutes. Let cool, then finely chop.
Step 3
Scrape butter into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat until light beige and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low; beat in egg yolks and ½ tsp. vanilla, followed by ¾ cup (83 g) powdered sugar, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in chopped toasted pistachios and ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, then add flour in 2 additions. Beat until dough comes together. (It may look crumbly, but it should hold together when squeezed in your palm.) Transfer dough to a large piece of parchment paper and pat into a loose square. Cover with a second piece of parchment and roll out to a 9" square about ¼" thick. Chill dough 20 minutes.
Step 4
Uncover dough; cut into 1½"-wide strips. Cut strips at a 45° angle about 1½" apart, creating oblique diamonds. Arrange cookies on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1" apart. Bake, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until edges are golden, 14–18 minutes. Let cool.
Step 5
Finely chop remaining 2 Tbsp. pistachios. Whisk a pinch of salt, remaining 2 cups (220 g) powdered sugar, remaining 1 tsp. vanilla, and 6–8 tsp. water in a small shallow bowl until thick and glossy (not runny, although it should drip off the whisk). Add more water or powdered sugar if needed.
Step 6
Working one at a time, dip tops of cookies in glaze, letting excess drip back into bowl; smooth with a spoon if needed. Sprinkle with pistachios and let sit 10 minutes to set.
Do ahead:Cookies can be made 3 days ahead. Store air tight at room temperature.
