I’ll admit, I think olive oil is sexy. Extra Virgin Olive Oil especially, sends me over the moon. The rich, full and nutty smell, the beautiful translucent green color, and the way the taste coats my mouth. It’s just gorgeous. I’ve been known to buy a fresh baguette on the way home from work and simply eat warm bread with plates full of olive oil. I think I’ve also put the stuff in my hair as a conditioner, and on my hands as a lotion. But that’s sounding like a whole other blog, so let’s not get into that.
Lemon Scented Olive Oil Cookies with Almond Glaze. Sounds like there’s a lot going on in one humble cookie, right? It’s amazing how the flavors and sweetness meld together to create a unique, yet strangely familiar taste treat. These essentially taste like a darling lemon sugar cookie, but with a slight (sexy) hint of olive oil. I tested these on unsuspecting, but die hard cookie fans, and they couldn’t put their finger on the olive oil without me pointing it out. The verdict- two thumbs up.
Not only does olive oil smell gorgeous and taste great, it’s also good for you! There’s a reason why the Italians are so beautiful, and I think it’s something in the olive oil. Olive oil has less fat than butter, and has mono-saturated fats which are good for you heart. It’s a great substitute for butter in these cookies.
I found that the batter for these cookies comes out a little wet, almost like cake batter. I spooned the batter onto a greased and floured cookie sheet by the tablespoonful, and baked them up. They turned out just lovely! Try them, I’d love to hear what you think!
Lemon Scented Olive Oil Cookies with Almond Glaze
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
generous pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
3/4 cup whole milk
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Zest 1 lemon and rub the zest into the granulated sugar, creating a slightly fragrant sugar. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla extract, olive oil and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. If the mixture is stiff (I didn’t have this problem, I thought it might have been too wet) then add a touch more milk.
Drop by tablespoonful onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack. When cooled completely, drizzle with almond glaze.
Almond Glaze
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
splash of pure almond extract (about 1/4 teaspoon)
2 Tablespoons of milk, more as needed to create desired thickness
Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.
MoJo
Mmm, few things get me as excited as a new post on your blog, and this one does not disappoint. I’m completely intrigued by this idea. It sounds delicious. I can’t wait to give it a try.
bjjj
sorry joy-this is the first of ur recipes i have tried and it was not good. one of the comments said ‘bizarre’. bizarre is right. strange,,,and kinda gross to be honest. i don’t advise anyone to try this one. as for me…olive oil in cookies from now on is a big no-no.
hopefully the next thing i try from here will be more of a success.
turtlesoup
olive oil in cookies—amazing!!! that is one for the books. I am looking forward to trying this. FRom past experience I have found that I have almost past up a very good recipe just by looking at the ingredients alone. Some of my favorite recipes (saurkraut cake, for instance) have “different” ingredients in them.
PaniniKathy
Lemon, olive oil and almond are three of my all-time favorite flavors! I’m anxious to try these cookies – and I especially love that I probably have all the ingredients already on hand :-)
Millie
Olive oil in cookies? Those sound very intriguing! I’ll have to give them a try since I don’t think I’ve ever had olive oil (which I love in a lot of things) in cookies. They look really good!
Sarah
I will have to agree with you there. Hands down, olive oil is a sexy igrendient… I know what you mean about its nutty, wonderful flavor. These cookies sound great!
Steph
Yum, these cookies look scrumptious!!!
Patricia Scarpin
I have baked an orange corneal cake with olive oil, but haven’t tried it in cookies. These look so good!
peabody
Only ever used it in cakes…will have to try in cookies.
steph (whisk/spoon)
oh, i love olive oil in little cakes and things (even had a great olive oil gelato once at one of mario batali’s places), so i’ll bet these are delicious!
Robin
I’ll admit, I was apprehensive. Olive oil is great, but mixed with sweet things, I wasn’t too sure. I also took these to another level and made them vegan (added 2/3 cup of apple sauce instead of eggs, soymilk for whole milk), so when I tasted the dough/batter and it wasn’t so great, and I was upset. But when they came out of the oven, and drizzled with glaze? Mmmm. Good, definitely good. Bizarre, but in a really lovely way.
cttatty
I agree with Amanda, and find your beginning a dissertation on alternative uses for olive oil intrigueing. Tell us more, about how olive oil might be applied to Joy…
Mary
Oh my these look lovely! I love lemons almost as much as I love olive oil!
Food Rockz Man
Very, very, very interesting . . . I’ve never imagined such a thing as a cookie incorporating olive oil . . . I like it! Thanks for expanding my universe. You still rockz!
Amanda
haha I agree with the olive oil love! How can one little bottle be so damn alluring?!