A COOKIE CONVERSION

I was after a crisp cookie, not overly sweet, sort of like galleta María, the Spanish breakfast cookie. But I wanted to make it vegan, omitting the egg and swapping olive oil for butter. Something was lost in conversion! I wound up with a crumbly cookie, tasty, but no good for dunking in a cup of hot chocolate, coffee or chai.

The results of my galleta experiment remind me of mantecados, typical Christmas cookies, that are usually made with lard. But some variations are made exclusively of olive oil, which probably makes them closer to their origin, Moorish or Sephardic, as, in those cultures, pig fat would have been taboo. 

Not for dunking, my olive oil cookies are soft and crumbly, not crisp. 

 

Chunks of crumbled cookies folded into whipped cream with strawberries--a lovely dessert.

Or, combine the crumbles with heavy cream whipped with chocolate. 

Serve the cookies alongside coffee or tea, with a medium-sweet Sherry or with snifters of brandy or anisette. Save any crumbled ones to crush as a base for custard tarts or cheesecake. Or, fold the crumbs into whipped cream with sliced strawberries. 

Grated lemon zest and cinnamon complement the subtle flavor of olive oil in these cookies. You could also try aniseed, typical in Spanish cookies of this type. Here’s my recipe.

Crumbly Olive Oil Cookies

Mantecados de Aceite de Oliva

Oat flour.

Makes about 40 (2X2 ½ -inch) cookies.

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 ½ cups oat flour

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour + additional to roll out the cookies

¼ cup almond flour (unsweetened)

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Powdered sugar to finish (optional)

In a bowl beat the oil with the two kinds of sugar and the lemon zest. In a mixing bowl, combine the oat flour, all-purpose flour and almond flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir to mix.

Soft cookie dough.

Make a well in the center of the flour ingredients. Pour in the oil and sugar. Mix into the flour to make a soft, smooth dough. Knead briefly to mix completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Have ready 2 baking sheets and 2 sheets of baking parchment.

Roll and cut the cookies on baking parchment, then slide the sheet of parchment onto the baking sheet.

Divide the dough in half. Place one sheet of parchment on work surface. Place one half of the dough on it. Sprinkle rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Use a pastry wheel or knife to cut into rectangles. Slide the sheet of parchment with the cut dough onto one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the second sheet of parchment.

Place the sheets in the oven and bake 10 minutes. Reverse the position of the baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes longer. Remove the sheets from the oven and place them on racks. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the sheets.

Cool cookies before removing them from baking sheet.

Sprinkle the cookies with powdered sugar, if desired. Carefully lift them off the baking sheet and place on a platter. 

To make strawberry or chocolate whip: Crumbled some of the cookies. Chill heavy cream and whip it until stiff. Sweeten to taste with powdered sugar. For the strawberry whip, fold in sliced strawberries, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a handful of crumbled cookies. For the chocolate whip, whip  the cream with a big spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder and powdered sugar to taste. Fold crumbled olive oil cookies into the mixture. Spoon into dessert cups and chill.

More cookies with olive oil:

Crispy Olive Oil Cookies (Tortas de Aceite).

Cookies for crumb crust:

Cheese-Custard Tart with Mantecados Crust.

Recipe for Mantecados (with lard) here.