During my sophomore year of college, I took a semester-long course that changed my life. It was a writing class, geared to help us improve our expository writing skills while exploring a social issue in depth. We had dozens of topics to choose from – Environment and Ethics, Diversity and Racial Conflict, Immigrant America, etc. We had to choose our topic carefully, since this would be a subject that we’d be writing no less than 20 term papers about.
I chose a course called The Holocaust. Why? I can’t really explain; it was a gut feeling. I needed to learn more about this tragedy of unimaginable proportions. The class had a profound impact on me. I left the course with one resounding message written on my heart – never forget. Even today, there is unimaginable suffering and genocide happening in our world. It is our responsibility as humans to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, to ensure that we do not allow it to happen again.
When we talk about the Holocaust, the last thing that comes to mind is cooking—in fact, it seems strange to associate cookbook recipes with such a tremendous tragedy. And yet, there are several incredible cookbooks and compilations of recipes written by Holocaust survivors. Recipes are a way of keeping family history alive—they’re a tangible reminder of family, home, comfort, and security. Entire families were lost in the concentration camps, leaving survivors to push forward alone in the world, clinging to only memories of their loved ones. One way to keep those memories alive is to recreate their recipes, to share them and in that way remember their spirit.
The Holocaust Survivor Cookbook strives to keep those memories alive. It’s a compilation of heartbreaking survivor stories that put faces and names to the victims of the Holocaust. It also includes several authentic recipes from survivors and their families. I discovered this book last year, and I treasure it.
In full disclosure—because this is, after all, a cooking blog—the Holocaust Survivor Cookbook isn’t the most reliable source for foolproof recipes. Because the book features personal family recipes, some are not written very clearly. Several of the recipes list ingredients that are missing in the instructions, leaving you to guess where and when you should add them. That said, I still recommend that you buy this book–not only for the food, but for the history. It is filled with true, personal stories of survival during one of the darkest periods in human history. In addition, there are some wonderful recipes that are worth the price of the book itself.
This recipe comes from the family of survivor Rena Gani Carasso. Here is an excerpt from her story:
Rena and Daniel, 1989 (Photo courtesy of The Holocaust Survivor Cookbook)
Rena was born in Prevesa Greece in 1915. Prevesa was a small Jewish community a few hours from Athens. Her father Solomon was a prosperous textile merchant and her mother Simcha stayed home and raised their five children.
In 1943 the Germans invaded their town and arrested all of the Jews. The entire Gani family was sent to the Birkenau/Auschwitz concentration camp where the parents were immediately sent to the gas chambers.
Rena and her sister Ellie were sent to the women’s camp, while her three brothers went to the men’s camp. The three young men fought valiantly in an uprising at the men’s camp but were killed… Rena and Ellie survived the women’s camp, and were liberated by the Americans in 1945. They returned to Greece where nothing remained of their once happy family.
…Soon Rena moved to Athens where she met and married tall handsome Daniel Carasso, known to his friends as Nico. Since both Rena and Nico had lost most of their friends and relatives in the Holocaust their wedding was small, but still filled with the hope and promise of the future.
In 1951 Rena, Daniel, and their little daughter Jeanette came to America. Their family is honored on the Wall of Honor at Ellis Island. They later had another daughter Eileen and five beautiful grandchildren.
“Because Our Parents Survived” – Jeanette Kasten and Eileen Metzger and their families
This recipe for Rena Carasso’s Greek Butter Cookies, known as Kourabiedes, was submitted to the cookbook by her daughters Jeannette Katzen and Eileen Metzger. They are a delicious tribute to Rena and her family.
I have made one small modification to this recipe. The cookie dough did not have enough sweetness for me (and I’m not a big fan of sweet), so I went ahead and increased the powdered sugar in the dough to 1 cup. The original recipe calls for ½ cup of sugar in the dough (separate from the 2 cups of dusting sugar). You can add even more sugar to the dough for sweetness if you want, it will not change the dough’s texture.
To purchase your own copy of the Holocaust Survivor Cookbook, click here. Proceeds benefit the Carmei Ha’ir Soup Kitchen, which serves over 500 meals every day to the poor and hungry of Israel.
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Rena Carasso's Kourabiedes - Greek Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 pound unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 pound chopped almonds
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3-5 cups flour
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat the butter slowly for 15 minutes. I used an electric mixer for this on a medium low speed setting.
- Slowly add the two egg yolks, 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and a little of the flour.
- Continue to beat, slowly adding the chopped almonds and more flour, until a soft dough forms. Scrape the sides of the bowl periodically to make sure all ingredients are well mixed.
- You want the dough to be pliable and easy to form without being too greasy/buttery.
- Roll the dough into crescent or round shapes. I used a little less than 2 tbsp of dough per cookie.Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 15-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven till lightly golden. Remove cookies from the oven.
- Allow to cool, .then dust with the remaining 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar.According to Rena’s recipe, they need to be generously coated in the sugar, not just a little sprinkle. So don’t be shy with it—powder away!
Nutrition
My large Greek family has these around all the time. No matter who’s house you walk into there’s a tin of cookies that comes out within 30 seconds of ringing the bell. There are two problems with the recipe…it really is 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in the dough…trust me they are about to get really sweet! You fill a container with the remaining sugar and dump the cookies in HOT! They get really coated that way. And you serve them in white cupcake liners so you don’t lose any of the sugar!!
just made kourabiedes for the first time and they were not crunchy in fact a little dry and soft inside. my daughter in law who is greek said when she makes them they are crunchy more like shortbread. what did i do wrong as i followed the recipe but did put much less sugar in being a diabetic as i followed quite a few recipes and many had less sugar. want to try baking more but would prefer them to be more crunchy like you buy here in the bakers. i am english living in athens greece
Hi Lindsey, families have different methods of making these cookies throughout Greece. I would suggest trying a different recipe, as this one is probably not what you’re looking for.
Came across your website on kourabiedes and enjoyed reading the story and history of the cookies of your family. My parents have similar stories of survival in Greece, a country not much talked about when the topic of Halocaust comes up. Food was everything to my parents once in America, because they were so deprived of it during the war years.
My mother was not much of a baker, but my Godmother, Olga Bourla, was. She always made such wonderful pastries. My favorite was koulouria, another butter type cookie, not as sweet as the kourabiedes. I have been trying to perfect the koulouria recipe over the years. To make the koulouria healthier, I now use ground almonds and wheat pastry flour for the dough. They are so great with coffee, and every person who has tried them, absolutely loves them and asks me to make them.
My parents are also Greek Jews who survived the Holocaust. Like Rena Carrasso, my Mom is from Athens and my Dad was from Thesaloniki, Greece. My Dad passed 21 years ago. My Mom, who lives with me, makes Kourabiades every year around the holidays and I take them to all my co-workers – they just love them! Rena’s recipe is very similar to my Mom’s. Jeanette and Eileen must have watched their Mom make these cookies as I have watched my Mom make them for so many years now….I swear my Mom’s always come out better than mine – it’s something in her light touch with her hands! Thank you so much for honoring the memory of all of our relatives who perished in the Holocaust. Wishing you continued success!
It is traditional for Greek sweets like Kourabiedes to be served in the cupcake baking cups. The silver cups hold up better (no seepage through of butter). Makes for a nice presentation too! I had fun as a child helping my mom place them in the cups! (still do!). Thank you for posting a heartfelt story and recipe.
Hi Tori; Yes, my compliment was meant for your wonderful instructions and pictures. Nicole was another site and when I put a comment on your site, I mixed you up. Sorry for that. Back in the day, I was a gourmet cook and loved to cook on weekends. No home computers back then. I won several cooking contests and it was fun. I still love to cook & bake. Thanks again.
Got it! 🙂
Thanks Tori. I hope my comment didn’t insult Nicole. I hit the 5 stars, but it only showed 3 star comment. Please accept my apologies for whatever happened. I think her pictures of each step were so wonderful. Many recipes are difficult to make without pics. Great thread. Have a nice night.
Hi Selene– I’m not sure who Nicole is, but I’m very glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Thank you for all the pictures of each step. That was lots of work for you. Delicious cookies and so easy with your recipe. I just made them. There were too many for me. I put some (12 to a box) in fancy cupcake papers and then into cupcake boxes (that I purchased on sale at t.j. Maxx) and I gave one box to my neighbor (who thoughtfully shovels my snow for all the older neighbors), and one box is ready for the mailman tomorrow. I love to thank my mailman in ways that are different. The boxes are all different, and very colorful. Not sure where else they can be purchased. They actually hold 4 cupcakes. Celephane on top to see what’s inside. Great box for many gifts. (package does claim to be for cupcakes, but not actual boxes) for giving away these cookies. I got 12 cupcake liners (4 per row), every row, I put 1 cookie inside the cupcake liner and repeated twice. Such a nice way to give these cookies as a gift. (I saw where some make these cookies in fancy packaging for wedding favors. Great Idea even if your not Greek.
Great ideas Selene!
What she meant by each cookie should be placed in it’s own baking cup is to place each cookie in those cupcake liner/baking cups..there are foil ones or the nice assorted color ones..this is how they were always served in my house..then you get to easily grab your cookie with all that powdered sugar! Delicious!
You are correct Karen…we did use individual cupcake baking cups to place each cookie, SATURATED with confectioner’s sugar. Don’t forget…DO NOT INHALE while eating 😉
Being Greek has given me the pleasure to make and serve these cookies, if i can help by explaining that the individual cups are litteraly the baking cups we use to make cupcakes in …. Hope this helps
I had a neighbor make these for the kids years ago. they loved them
I made something similar to this a couple months ago…I substitute some…pistachio instead of almonds, almond extract instead of vanilla extract as I didn’t have these at the time and it was delicious…give this a try. Thanks for the recipe!
Very nice and I own the book. Let´s hear it for the Greeks.
Three cheers for the yummy Greek recipes and advice . Yassoo
My favorite recipe is Spanakopita. (Greek Spinach Pie) all our friends and families favorite.
Love these cookies. My Mother made them.
Thank you!
Sigh. My grandma used to make these…yum!
What a beautiful post! Thank you for sharing the recipe and cookbook–I am definitely going to pick up a copy.
These are delicious – I also have a gluten free version
I would love to get the gluten free version of these cookies, as my daughter-in-law is unable to eat
my recipe, being gluten free. I know she feels deprived when the rest of the family and friends enjoy
them over the holidays. I’ve already tried by using gluten free flours, but they really don’t taste good.
My daughter-in-law, said she liked them as she may have appreciated my effort. But I will tell you
that to me, they were awful
They have blog about their trip on which they post daily about their experiences. http://www.hst10@blogspot.com
Thank you for sharing. I plan to purchase the book for my 17 year old daughter. She is currently on a Holocaust Study Tour in Europe with 20 other students and 4 teachers. They are in Prague as we speak. Yesterday, she had the incredible opportunity to visit Teresienstadt concentration camp accompanied by a 92 year old man who is a survivor. What a life changing experience for her. They are also traveling to Berlin, Olomouc, and Krakow.
Thank you for sharing this book and the story. I will be sure to buy it for me to enjoy, and to pass on to my son. My late parents were the sole survivors of their immediate families, and build a good life in America. Once they arrived they never left, not even to drive the 45 minutes to Tijuana Mexico for lunch. My mom was interviewed for the Shoah Foundation’s project, but my dad refused. Her testimony survives, and even though she is gone it has had a positive impact on people who have viewed my copies. If you know a survivor who has not given their testimony yet, please contact the Shoah Foundation archives at The University of Southern California. If you have not yet been to Yad Vashem, please make it a priority. I visited there, walked the paths and exhibits,, and had a life altering experience. Zachor!!!