Monday, September 28, 2009

sweet lemon & black olive wafers

These were so good that I made them again and they're almost gone. Time to post the recipe for these unusual and delicious cookies. They were actually better the second time because the olives were in larger pieces and there was enough lemon zest - and less sugar coating on the cookies. They take no time flat and have zero cholesterol because they are made with olive oil -- how great is that??! The recipe was in the Star Ledger (NJ's largest newspaper) and is from "The New Portuguese Table," by David Leite. 1-1/2 c flour 1/2 mild oil-cured black olives, pitted & coarsely chopped (I used kalamatas) 1/4 c. sugar, plus more for coating 1/4 tsp baking powder 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon pinch of kosher salt 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil 1 large egg, beaten 1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and set heat to 375 degrees F. 2. Stir together flour, olives, sugar, baking powder, zest,cinnamon, & salt in a medium bowl. 3. Whisk together the oil and egg, pour into dry ingredients and mix with hands until dough no longer looks dry and holds together when squeezed, 1-2 minutes. 4. Fill small bowl with sugar. Pinch off about 1 rounded teaspoon dough, roll into ball about 1", roll it in sugar. Place on parchment,put another piece on top and with rolling pin, roll into a circle about 3" and as thin as possible. The edges will be ragged. You should get about 12 cookies on sheet. Lift off top parchment, move parchment with cookies onto cookie sheet and bake till edged with brown and pebbled on top, about 10-12 min. Repeat w/ remaining dough.(see picture at top, this is how they look when they are done). Once cooled, cookies will keep crisp in airtight container for several days. In my house, they don't last for that long! Makes about 30 cookies. Great with a glass of red wine or cup of tea or coffee. P.S. I made them in the food processor the first time but they were better now, when I mixed them by hand and the olives didn't get macerated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I worked at home all week, which I always find isolated and depressing. But I am stitching and finishing quilts and can't really do that in my studio because my Janome is here. I've been up till the wee hours of the morning every night - gotta work while you're in the mood, right??! This will be another busy week - and a short one because today was holiday for us. We went to Hilary's to break the fast and I baked an apple bread to take (because I was out of bananas) and it was another easy, good recipe. Tomorrow, the dentist for a crown. Wednesday, Studio Six crit group meeting; Thursday night my other art crit group meets here, and then the week is over.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

oh my but this recipe sounds good! Thanks for passing it along. It's 3am here so I know what you mean about working into the wee hours. One has to go with whatever works!

Judy Sall Fiber Art said...

Your calendar sounds like mine! Who keeps putting those appointments down for me? All I really want to do is stay here and play... but life takes over!
The recipe sounds yummy, but I'm on a quest to drop at least 9 more pounds, so cookies are out... darn!
Enjoy one for me...

Aleeda said...

Those look yummy Rayna....I'll try to bring them as a house guest gift next week.

Linda Branch Dunn said...

Best part is, if I make them, they are all for me, since no one else tolerates olives.

thanks!

Anonymous said...

These were a big hit with my art group. Went well with a little wine and cheese. They asked where I got the recipe from and told them from the same blog with the tomato soup cake and they all smiled. Terry

Webmaster said...

Surprisingly, olives and sweets go well. I once had to make brownies when the only oil I had was olive oil. What a find! It turns out that olive oil makes wonderful brownies.

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