Oh my goodness! The countdown to Christmas and year end is here! Lets get you baking some of these delicious treats! This is a wonderful cookie to make and eat! It has some great flavors of spice and is flavored with olive oil and butter. A great start for your cookie table that you can make in no time at all – this is an Orange, Spice and Olive Oil Cookie, a 2022 Christmas Treat!
You know I spend countless hours searching for ideas in cooking and baking! But I only share the ones that pass muster (my wife must love it) with you. As soon as I saw this recipe, I could taste it! To me, that is always a good sign for a good recipe. The spices involved are nutmeg, cardamom, turmeric – yes turmeric, and cloves. Mix everything in a bowl, refrigerate for a couple of hours and bake. No mixer required!
You can make these cookies soft or leave in the oven a bit longer for a crispier bite. Deliciousness either way! My preference is usually always softer, but I tried both ways and loved them equally – just like my children! The refrigeration is needed as nothing is really whipped together i.e. butter, sugar, eggs – it’s just whisked to smoothness. The taste of olive oil will be as pronounced as the olive oil you use. There are so many tasty olive oils out there, not cheap (is anything cheap anymore?) but won’t break the bank either. Just look for an intriguing tasting olive oil. Like wine, olive oils vary in taste – herbal, fruity, spicy, mild etc. I used a mild tasting olive oil this time around because I wanted the citrus and spice flavors to shine! But as always, the next experiment will be with a stronger more intense tasting oil.
I know you will like this cookie – it will make a tasteful and fragrant addition to your sweet table. I got about 40 cookies from this batch – remember small is good when you have a variety to share. I’m also including a “Suggestions and/or Substitutions” section for you to mix and match ingredients. I may not have said this before, but recipes are just guides! 🙂 The ease of these cookies will make them a year round favorite! Look after yourselves and keep watching for more treats as we get closer to the date! As always – enjoy!
Suggestions and/or Substitutions:
Pictured below – a whole almond pressed into the cookie – a variation I tried with half the batch.
Use a stronger flavored olive oil
Vary up the spices – star anise, black pepper etc.
Use lemon or lime or a combination of citrus
Role in citrus sugar instead of spiced sugar
If you get the idea to make this and don’t have room temperature butter available, just warm it up in the micro – a little melting is okay
You get the idea! Just share it with me!
Cookies
• 1/2 cup (99g) olive oil
• 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (57g) icing sugar
• 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
• 1 large or 2 small oranges, zested
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp each nutmeg, cloves and cardamom
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
Coating
• 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 orange, zested
Instructions
1. In a large bowl whisk the sugars to ensure no clumps
2. Add the olive oil, butter and zest – continue whisking until smooth
2. Add the egg, vanilla, and spices, whisk until incorporated and smooth
3. Add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour whisk initially to combine, then switch to a rubber spatula to ensure no dry flour pockets
4. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until stiff enough to scoop and hold its shape – have a glass of wine, a beer or something else, I wont judge
5. In the meantime make the sugar coating, the zest will be wet and will need time to dry in order to coat the cookie properly – set aside and get back to the wine
6. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350f and line two baking sheets with parchment – set aside
7. Run a fork through the coating sugar to break it up, use your fingers so no clumps remain
8. Scoop the chilled dough by the ½ – ¾ tablespoonful and roll into a ball and then in the sugar to coat – mine were the diameter of a quarter
9. Place the balls of dough on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 1/2″ between them
10. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes; mine took 13 minutes for a softer cookie, 14 for a firmer cookie – you know timing will vary with ovens, use your judgement
11. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely (well of course you can try one warm and then again when cooled – for purely scientific reasons alone)
