The Cookie Line

Puffs of white drift across the red-tiled kitchen floor at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Northridge, veiling the counters and dusting the women working there. By the end of the day, the puffs grow to blizzard proportions.

This is not snow. It is the powdered sugar required to coat 3,000 of the Greek butter cookies called kourambiedes . The cookies--delicate, tender, crumbly and not terribly sweet, despite all the sugar--are for this weekend’s Valley Greek Festival sponsored annually by the church.

Roofing is also in progress on this day devoted to kourambiedes . St. Nicholassuffered $1.7 million in damage in the Northridge earthquake; in addition to the golden-domed church itself, the ballroom complex and school were heavily damaged. Some of the proceeds from the festival will go toward the repair of the church.

But at this moment here in the kitchen, cookies are the order of business. Chris Kezios, wife of church pastor Rev. Spencer T. Kezios, knows that the secret to getting the right texture for kourambiedes is to put in just the right amount of flour--not too much, or too little. Working at a heavy-duty mixer, she rolls bits of dough between her fingers to show how the dough reaches a point at which it becomes smooth and cohesive, though very soft.

Other bakers in the kitchen press a single dimple into the center of each ball of dough. This helps the cookies bake more evenly, explains Eugenia Georgilas, baking chairman along with Mary Kostopoulos. The kourambiedes go straight from the oven to a thick layer of powdered sugar, which they can absorb better while hot. After, they are thickly dusted with more sugar.

One Greek custom is to compose a Christmas tree of kourambiedes , stacked like the French croquembou^che , Georgilas says. The cookies are also served at festive occasions such as weddings or engagement parties. They were the next-to-last pastries made for the festival because they cannot be frozen for long storage.

There’s more than cookies for festival-goers to feast on, however. There are dinner plates laden with shish kebab or Greek chicken accompanied by rice pilaf, stuffed grape leaves, tyropita (cheese baked in filo dough) and Greek salad, all homemade. Other choices include moussaka, pastitsio (Greek-style macaroni with cream sauce), spanakopita (spinach, feta and Romano cheese baked in filo dough), gyro sandwiches, Greek-style sausage ( loukanika ), fried calamari and saganaki --Greek cheese flamed with brandy.

And let’s not forget the baker’s dozen of desserts, including the kourambiedes , baklava generously stuffed with nuts, chocolate saragli (a variation on baklava with a chocolate topping), pasta flora (a butter cookie filled with jam), almond and walnut cakes, galaktoboureko (custard baked in filo) and melomakarona (a honey cookie sprinkled with nuts).

*

It’s taken three months for volunteer bakers to produce the 30,000 or so pieces of pastry that will be available to eat at the festival or take home. According to Marie Zaferis, festival chairman (along with her husband, Peter), about 35,000 visitors are expected.

* Valley Greek Festival, 9501 Balboa Blvd., Northridge. Saturday, May 27, through Monday, May 29. 1 to 9 p.m. Free admission.

ST. NICHOLAS VALLEY GREEK FESTIVAL KOURAMBIEDES

Chris Kezios’ recipe, which the festival bakers were using, calls for a dash of bourbon, but orange juice can be substituted, she says.

1 pound unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar, plus more for coating

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon bourbon

4 cups flour, sifted

Whip butter in electric mixer about 25 minutes, until white and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar, egg yolk and bourbon. Mix well. Add flour gradually and beat until dough is very soft but can be handled without sticking.

Shape dough into walnut-size balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets and flatten slightly. With finger tip, make depression in center of each.

Bake at 325 degrees until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Immediately remove cookies from hot baking sheet and place on another baking sheet thickly coated with sifted powdered sugar. Cover with additional sifted powdered sugar. Cool completely. Place in individual paper cups and store in airtight container.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Each cookie contains about:

146 calories; 2 mg sodium; 35 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.04 gram fiber,

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