A Dying Man's Last Wish - Koulourakia!

An elderly Greek man lay dying in his bed. While suffering the agonies of impending death, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite Greek cookies, koulourakia, wafting up the stairs. Gathering his remaining strength, he lifted himself from the bed.

Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort, gripping the railing with both hands he crawled downstairs. With labored breath, he leaned against the doorframe, gazing into the kitchen. Where, if not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven.

For there, spread out upon waxed paper on the kitchen table were literally hundreds o f his favorite Greek cookies--koulourakia.

Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted Greek wife of sixty years, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself towards the table, landing on his knees in a crumpled posture. His parched lips parted, the wondrous taste of the koulouraki was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life.

The aged and withered hand trembled on its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when it was suddenly smacked with a Koutala (spatula) by his wife.................

"Get out of here," she shouted, "They're for the funeral!"

In Greek: koulourakia, pronounced koo-loo-RAHK-yah

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of unsalted butter, softened (1/2 pound or 2 sticks)
1 cup of sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of grated orange zest
1 tablespoon of baking powder
4 cups of all-purpose flour

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 375F (190C).

In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder with a whisk.
In another bowl, cream the butter and add sugar gradually. Beat the eggs until light and add to the butter-sugar mixture, beating well. Add the vanilla extract. Add the flour and baking powder mixture slowly, blending to make a soft and malleable dough.

To shape each ring, pull off a piece of dough the size of a walnut and roll it out by hand into a rope about 4 inches long. Form a circle with it, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving some distance between the cookies. Brush the tops lightly with beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on racks.

Yield: 4-5 dozen

Malista!