Orange Almond Cookies

I loved the sound of these cookies when I was reading through the recipe:

Olive oil — unusual!

Orange — seasonal and bright!

Almond — nutty and nice alternative to vanilla!

The combination of all of these flavors make this recipe really special. Eating one transports you to Europe, as the desserts there incorporate these flavors more regularly. The almond is the leading taste here. If you’re iffy about almond, reduce the extract to 1/2 tsp. instead or even try replacing the almond with vanilla. If you’re an almond lover and adore bakes like Almond Cake, L’amandier (GF) and Nectarine Frangipane Tart, then you’ll really enjoy these cookies.

They took a lot of fooling around with to be honest. The first batch were so salty I could barely stomach them. I’ve reduced the salt a lot! The second batch was lower sugar and I think the olive oil masked the sweet flavor a bit too much for my tastes. Feel free to reduce the sugar down to 2/3 cup if desired.

The below recipe is just the right amount of each ingredient. And the ease of this recipe is the best. No electric mixer needed, since there is no butter that needs to be creamed. The actual cookie is crisp along the outsides and bottom, and pillow-y and soft on the insides. The feathered appearance on top was created by the cookie/ice cream scoop I used when making the cookie dough balls. Don’t worry about their pale color, they’re entirely cooked through and the lighter shade helps the orange zest stand out.

Enjoy these cookies in the afternoon for teatime.