Easter cookies (koulourakia)

Koulourakia are lightly sweetened strands of dough, twisted together in various shapes. These ones are crunchy on the outside, but very soft on the inside. A delicious recipe from my Grandma Stella. She makes them every Easter.

What we need:

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 8.82 oz butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• grated zest of one orange
• 2.20 lbs flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

How to do it:

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then add the milk, the orange juice and the zest.
3. In another bowl, combine all solid ingredients with half of the flour and then pour the flour mixture in the butter mixture. Add as much flour as it is needed, so as to have a soft, non-sticky dough.
4. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then shape the cookies as desired and bake them, 180°C for 10 to 20 minutes (it depends on their size).