Name: Easy 5 ingredient Greek koulourakia
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 6 cups all-purpose flour, sifted (approximately); 4 tbsp baking powder; 3 cups vegetable oil (or other mild flavoured oil); 1 ¾ cup sugar; 6 eggs (large); 1/4 cup sesame seeds (optional)

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Simple Greek koulourakia cookies or biscuits made with five simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. All you need are flour, oil, baking powder, eggs, sugar and optionally sesame seeds. They are ready in under one hour.

These easy Greek koulourakia cookies are made with 5 simple ingredients that you probably have on hand!

Growing up in a Greek home our cookie jar was not filled with peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, or Italian biscotti. Instead it was filled with koulourakia, the traditional Greek biscuits that are perfect for snacking on and dipping into coffee or milk. There are so many wonderful recipes for Greek koulourakia, including moustokouloura, made with grape must, these delicious cinnamon and olive oil koulourakia, which happen to be vegan, and these fun chocolate and vanilla twist koulourakia. This is what I had available growing up! Oh, and there was no cute cookie jar. The koulourakia were kept in large plastic containers that previously held things like ice cream or margarine.

One of my favourite Greek cookies are these easy 5 ingredient Greek koulourakia. You are going to love these cookies! Don’t believe me? Well, after reading this post, and scrolling through the recipe, head to the kitchen to bake them. You will notice that you certainly have the 5 ingredients needed to make these easy Greek koulourakia in your kitchen right now. Nothing fancy here guys. Just simple ingredients to produce an amazing cookie.

Why I love this recipe

What do I love about these Greek koulourakia cookies? Well, first, the flavour! They are the perfect amount of sweetness. The texture is something else that I love. These koulourakia are crumbly and melt in your mouth. Unlike the traditional koulourakia which are made with ammonia, which have a soft doughy interior, these easy 5 ingredient Greek koulourakia are firmer, but not hard. They are not quite as firm as our koulourakia with orange. Another reason I love these cookies so much is because my parents love them. This is a relatively newer recipe for them, one that they got from a friend. After some tweaking to make it more to their liking (less sweet), they shared the recipe with me and Helen – and now it is shared it with you! That is what Mia Kouppa is all about!

Key ingredients

Flour I use all purpose or regular flour for these koulourakia. It is the perfect flour for baking koulourakia.

Sugar These koulourakia are sweetened with white granulated sugar. Sweetness, without a caramel flavour.

Oil I use mild flavoured vegetable oil to make these koulourakia.

Eggs This recipe uses large eggs.

Baking powder This is the leavening agent I use to give these koulourakia a bit of a lift!

Sesame seeds This sixth ingredient is optional! Sometimes I use sesame seeds, and sometimes I don’t. They do add a nice flavour and texture to the cookies though, and they look pretty.

How to make them

Step 1
Add the oil and the sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat at medium speed for 2 – 3 minutes. Next add the eggs and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes.

Step 2
Sift 5 ¾ cups of flour and add in the baking powder. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just well combined. You may need to add in more sifted flour. The dough mixture should come away from the edges of your bowl. If it does not, you will need to add more sifted flour, a bit at a time. Your dough should be sticky, but you should still be able to shape it into a ball.

Step 3
Allow your dough to rest for at least 20-30 minutes at room temperature. The longer you let the dough sit, the more manageable it will be.

Step 4
Preheat your oven to 375 °F

Step 5
Shape your cookies into “S” forms. If you like, you can spread out some sesame seeds on the surface where you are rolling the cookies, and roll some sesame seeds onto the cookies, as you are shaping them.

Step 6
To make each cookie consistent I measure out the dough and have found that the best weight per koulouraki is between 28-30 grams and 5 inches long, before I shape it. Place your koulourakia on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in the middle rack of your oven for approximately 18 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, rotate your pan, and bake for another 3-4 minutes, until tops are golden, and bottoms are golden brown.

Step 7
Allow your cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Recipe substitutions

You can use a different type of oil in this recipe. You can use olive oil, or canola or corn oil – you can even use a combination of oils.

Simply keep in mind that if you use olive oil the colour and flavour of your koulourakia will be different.

Baking tips

How to shape these easy 5 ingredient Greek koulourakia

To make the most perfect cookies, I weigh out the dough. If you don’t want to bother doing this, you can simply “eyeball” the amount of dough that you use for each cookie.

The “s” shape can be a little tricky. If you prefer, make a round cookie instead (in the shape of a circle).

The cookies will flatten a bit

When they are baked the cookies will flatten a little bit. That is normal for these cookies. If you want to keep them from flattening, you can try chilling your cookies for about 20 minutes in the refrigerator; this may help them hold their shape.

Frequently asked questions

What is all-purpose flour?

We realize that you, our dear readers, come from all over the world (how amazing that you have found us, two sisters from Montreal!). What we call all-purpose flour, some of you know as regular flour or plain flour.

All-purpose flour is a mild-tasting white flour that is made from the innermost kernel of the wheat head. The truth is, it is not as nutritious as other types of flour, but it does have a longer shelf life. It is also the flour often used in baking, and the flour we use to make these easy 5 ingredient Greek koulourakia.

Is all-purpose flour the same thing as self-rising flour?

No, they are not the same thing. Self-rising flour contains salt and baking powder whereas all-purpose flour only contains the ground wheat endosperm. This is why in recipes that use all-purpose flour like this one for our easy 5 ingredient Greek koulourakia you must add the baking powder.

Can you use another oil in to make these easy 5 ingredient Greek koulourakia?

Yes, you can. Any mild flavoured oil such as avocado oil or sunflower oil would work. Olive oil would also work, but it would impact the flavour of the cookies because the olive oil has a more pronounced flavour.

Storing

These cookies will keep very well in a covered container for at least a week or two. Alternatively, they can be kept in the refrigerator for longer, or they can even be frozen.

How to freeze Greek koulourakia

These cookies freeze really well. After they have cooled, freeze them on a baking tray and once frozen transfer them to a freezer safe bag. To serve, allow to thaw at room temperature.

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How to serve

I love to serve these easy 5 ingredient koulourakia with a cup of Greek coffee, or with tea, like chamomile or Greek mountain tea. For children, they are perfect with a glass of milk, or a cup of hot chocolate.

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