My mother used to made a version of these, with more flour together with the yogurt and olive oil, so that she could shape flat disks and fill the half-moon tyropitakia (turnovers) with feta mixed with eggs and chopped mint.
I just thought that I could probably whip up a savory cookie that contained the cheese and mint, and here is my version. You can halve the recipe, but keep in mind that you can freeze these savory koulourakia and even if you don’t warm them up a bit before serving, they are still delicious.
Makes 40-45 cookie (about two-inch)
4 cups (500 grams) self-rising flour (or all purpose flour with 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ – 1 teaspoon black pepper, to taste
2/3 cup olive oil
3 cups full fat thick (Greek) yogurt, or 4 cups full fat natural yogurt
½ cup full fat milk or more as needed, if you used Greek yogurt
1 ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 ½ cup grated aged graviera or pecorino
More grated cheese, Rosemary leaves or/and Aleppo or Maras pepper for sprinkling the cookies (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F) and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, soda, salt and pepper). Toss well with a spatula and make a well in the center. Pour in the olive oil, the yogurt and the milk (if using) and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula. If the mixture looks too thick, add a bit more milk. Add the cheeses and mix well, again.
Take ¼ cup of the mixture and drop on the lined baking sheet, making sure you leave at least 1 ½-inch space between the cookies.
Bake for about 15 minutes in the middle of the oven, or until golden brown on top and bottom. Let cool a few minutes on the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely — although you could eat them warm too.
When completely cold, store in an air-tight container, and if you don’t consume the cookies within two days, freeze them and reheat in a toaster before serving.
Good morning, thank you so much for your generosity in providing so many wonderful recipes. I would love to make koulourakia this weekend but would like to use mind instead of rosemary. It would be greatly appreciated if you could advise how much mint is required and should this be fresh or dried ? Kindest regards Carolyn Patiniott
Thanks for the good words, Carolyn!
Yes, definitely mint would work perfectly instead of rosemary. Either dry or fresh, we use both here. I would say a 1 -2 chopped leaves or a pinch of dried mint to sprinkle the finished cookies. I used different sprinklings as you see in the photos –in some I did pepper flakes, rosemary to others, and finishing salt flakes to some.
By the way, your name sounds mach like my mother’s maiden name ‘Patinioti” (Πατηνιωτη in Greek) do you have any Greek connection, and if so from what part of the country?