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Round mastic butter cookies dusted with powdered sugar on a white plate, with a cup of Greek coffee beside it

Soft Baked Chios Mastic Cookies with Powdered Sugar

Soft butter cookies flavored with ground Chios mastic, chilled, baked at 165 C / 325 F, and rolled in powdered sugar. Makes about 24 cookies.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Calories: 141
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the mastic sugar
  • 1 tsp mastic tears (about 2 g)
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar (12 g)
For the dough
  • 225 g unsalted butter (1 cup); softened
  • 90 g powdered sugar (3/4 cup)
  • 1 egg yolk large
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 280 g all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt
For the coating
  • 60 g powdered sugar (1/2 cup); in a shallow bowl

Method
 

  1. Put the mastic tears and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar in a mortar. Grind for 2 to 3 minutes, until you have a fine powder with no chunks. Don't grind the mastic alone, because it warms up and turns into a sticky clump.
  2. In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and 90 g of powdered sugar with a mixer for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and mastic sugar and beat until smooth.
  3. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until no dry flour is left and the dough comes together. It will be soft. Cover and chill for 30 minutes, until firm enough to shape without sticking to your hands.
  4. Heat the oven to 165 C / 325 F and line two 33 x 46 cm / 13 x 18 inch sheet pans with parchment. Roll the dough into 24 balls of about 25 g each, a heaped tablespoon. Place 12 on each pan and press each one to about 1.5 cm / 1/2 inch thick.
  5. Bake both pans together on the middle and lower racks for 14 to 16 minutes, swapping their positions halfway. The cookies are done when the bottoms are light golden and the tops are pale and set. Don't wait for the tops to brown.
  6. Cool the cookies on the pans for 10 minutes. Roll each warm cookie gently in the 60 g of powdered sugar until coated, then move it to a wire rack. Dust a little extra over the top through a sieve if you like.

Notes

  • Ovens vary, so check the bottoms of the cookies at 14 minutes.
  • Grind the mastic with sugar, never on its own, so it stays a powder.
  • Chill the dough for the full 30 minutes so the discs hold their shape.
  • Handle the warm cookies gently when rolling them in sugar, since they're fragile until they cool.
  • Use a kitchen scale for the flour to keep the dough soft and easy to press.