We here at The Clever Blog don’t claim to be perfect – nor would we want to be! Too much pressure. Read below about Andrea’s foray into savory cookies and feel free to share your tips on baking with olive oil if you have some gems. Also, stay tuned later this month for Andrea’s Portuguese recipe project – more to come!
The other day, I decided it was time to leave my baking comfort zone.
I’ve made savory cookies before (parmesan and black pepper – mmmm …), but decided to try a different flavor this time. Once this decision was made, the adventurous part of me came out a bit. I had heard about using olive oil instead of butter. I had never done it before because…well, because it’s butter! Along with vanilla, it’s a staple in baking. But, let’s give it a try!
Black Pepper Rosemary Cookies
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
½ cup of olive oil
¾ cup of white wine (I used a dry riesling)
Materials:
2 mixing bowls, measuring cup, measuring spoons, baking sheet (s), mixing spoon, rubber spatula.
First, I mixed the dry ingredients in one bowl. Then, I mixed the eggs, olive oil and white wine in a second bowl. So far, so good – the mixing was much easier without the butter.
Then using a rubber spatula, I mixed the liquid mix in to the dry ingredients. But mix the batter only as much as it’s mixed with a small amount of lumps.
Although the batter wasn’t that visually appealing, I was only slightly concerned because there are plenty of batters that are not appetizing looking before baking. So, with determined optimism, I kept going.
Next I preheated the oven to 375F, then I dropped the batter on to the baking sheets by teaspoonfuls, shaping the batter so that it’s flatter.
At this point, my concern started to grow. They weren’t looking as good – the oil was separating slightly, so the uncooked cookies were slightly oily looking.
Undeterred, I continued to bake for 12 minutes, then removed them from the oven and cooled.
The Final Verdict? Not good. The look on my husband’s face clearly gave away his opinion on them, despite him trying to be kind and find something good about them “they taste … strange.”
Yes, that’s the best critique he could come up with. Sadly, I ended up throwing them out.
I’m not off cooking with olive oil entirely – but maybe with a little less oil and with some stronger flavors for balance. There must be a way to make this work, but my first attempt was definitely not it.
Has anyone else ever substituted olive oil for butter? Has it worked? Are there any secrets to working with it successfully?
