Posted on: Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Substitute top-notch olive oil for butter in batch of cookies
| • | Uncork the savor of olive oil |
| • | Get to know eight different oils |
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
We all know a bit about using olive oil in dressings and marinades, or for sautéing. So we thought it might be interesting to consider another use for olive oil — baking. There is a long tradition in the Mediterranean of baking with olive oil instead of butter. Here, two similar cookies — one chocolate, one citrus-flavored — illustrate the olive-oil cookie technique. They're nice to serve together with tea or a sweet wine.
These intriguing cookies are easy to make, and you may freeze the dough and bake them later if you don't need a full recipe. To freeze, form the balls, place on cookie sheet and freeze solid, then transfer to zip-closure freezer bag. To bake, place them straight in a preheated oven, but bake a few extra minutes.
Use a full-flavored, fresh, extra-virgin olive oil.
These recipes are from "The Olive Harvest Cookbook" by Gerald Gass, with Jacqueline Mallorca (Chronicle Books, hardback, $35).
Lemon or Orange Olive-oil Cookies
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment or silicone baking sheets.
Sift together flour, sugar and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl.
In a small bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Add to dry ingredients, stirring to combine until the mixture comes together in a uniform mass.
Using your hands, roll the dough into balls 3/4 inch to 1 inch in diameter and place them on the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until cooked through and very lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Makes about 60 cookies.
• Per serving (3 cookies): 160 calories, 8 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, 30 milligrams sodium, 20 grams carbohydrate, 0 fiber, 10 grams sugar, 1 gram protein
• • • These taste a bit like Mexican chocolate.
Chocolate Olive-oil Cookies
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment or silicone baking sheets.
Sift together flour, sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, baking soda and cinnamon into a medium-sized bowl.
In a small bowl, stir together olive oil and vanilla and almond extracts, then add to dry ingredients, stirring to combine.
Add the melted chocolate and stir until mixture comes together into a uniform mass.
Using your hands, roll the dough into balls 3/4 inch to 1 inch in diameter and place them on the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake them, 1 sheet at a time, until cooked through and very lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Dust lightly with cocoa powder before serving.
Makes about 60 cookies.
• Per serving (3 cookies): 170 calories, 10 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, 30 milligrams sodium, 21 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 10 grams sugar, 2 grams protein
