If you are a newcomer to using extra-virgin olive oil when baking, you’re in for a treat and a healthy one at that.
Baking with olive oil dramatically reduces the saturated fat and cholesterol of your baked goods. Once you begin to use this healthy fat, there’s no going back and after you’ve tried the flavored oils, you’re hooked.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup whole almonds, toasted
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon olive oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (packed)
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Place almonds on baking sheet in 350* oven, bake until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. (Toasting nuts really brings out the flavor, don’t skip this step). Remove from oven, let cool, then chop.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and eggs. Add the lemon zest.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the chopped almonds.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for an hour.
- On a parchment-lined cookie sheet, take half of the dough and shape into a log (12-inch x 2-inch). Repeat with other half. Flatten logs slightly.
- Bake in 350* oven (middle rack) for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.
- Remove and cool on cookie sheet. Carefully, place log on cutting board and using a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange close together (cut-side down) on cookie sheet. Bake an additional 15 minutes until golden.
