olive oil Archives | The Vanilla Bean Blog

Olive Oil Sugar Cookies with Pistachios and Lemon Glaze

Sarah Kieffer — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 01:21:45 +0000

My mom will often turn down the sweet, gooey confections that I prefer, but she can never say no to a thin, crispy cookie. I created these unique olive oil sugar cookies with her in mind. The olive oil pairs well with the pistachios and lemon in this recipe. I’ve also made another version, Olive Oil Cookies with Blood Orange Glaze – the pink tinted frosting makes them a lovely Easter or Valentine’s Day cookie. What do olive oil cookies taste like? The olive oil flavor here is subtle, but there is still a trace of fruitiness and spice, and the sweet lemon glaze is a nice partner. Olive Oil Sugar Cookie Tips: This dough is very forgiving, so if it cracks at all while you are rolling it out, you can patch it up easily. I call for a 2 in [12 cm] biscuit cutter, but smaller sizes also work well, just take a few minutes off the baking time. You can leave out the pistachios if needed; replace it in the dough with equal parts flour. *Troubleshooting Notes: I have been making this recipe for 6+ years now (during the winter holidays especially), and never had a problem […]

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Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Sarah Kieffer — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 03:23:34 +0000

‘I believe food should capture your spirit. Your food, I believe, is a compilation of your journey in life – it collects bits and pieces as you go. From youth and culture, from travel, and from day-to-day experiences. It is also very much an evolution… Food’s ability to bring people together is unparalleled. It is at the foundation of our cultures; it is the goodness we can bring to ourselves and others. When we celebrate food and retain its inherent quality, we nourish ourselves and our lives. We take the time to source good ingredients and produce. We support our local farmers and artisans, and we help sustain a beautiful cycle of goodness that extends to the people around us.’ -Karen Mordechai, Simple Fare I received Karen’s new book (affiliate link) this past week, and instantly was drawn to this dark chocolate olive oil cake. It did not disappoint. You may know Karen’s site Sunday Suppers, and her book is filled with the same beautiful photography and thoughtful recipes found there. I recommend checking it out. Also! This has nothing to do with above cake, but I’m teaming up with Minted again – they sent me some of their foil-pressed products […]

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Olive Oil Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate and Rosemary

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 16 May 2016 14:00:00 +0000

This little olive oil cake was tucked way back in the archives. I decided to give it a new photo and bring it front and center once again, as it is one of my forgotten favorites. It’s from Kim Boyce’s wonderful cookbook Good To The Grain. Throughout the book, Ms. Boyce focuses on incorporating a variety of underused flours in her recipes, not so much for added health (although that’s a nice benefit), but for flavor. Her recipes are spot on – they have been tested and fine tuned, and she has created some unique goodness. A few things: My blog had a nice feature on Food 52 recently, if you want to check it out. I’m trying to keep up with the kids and started snapchat. I think I like it. If you want to follow along there, you can find me at: sarahkieffer I recently made Sheet Pan Pizza over at Bread in 5 – my family won’t stop requesting it. It’s adapted from Ken Forkish’s new book The Elements of Pizza (which I highly recommend). Olive Oil Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate and Rosemary From Good To The Grain, by Kim Boyce Olive oil for the pan 3/4 […]

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peanut butter granola with cacao nibs and bittersweet chocolate

Sarah Kieffer — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 08:00:19 +0000

It snows in here. It snows forever, but there’s no Christmas underneath this weather. When it blows here and gets real cold, I wanna trip myself and fall upon your fabulous sword and move here by the stained-glass window. Forget about the inside ghetto. Down here on the hardwood floor, the lines on the ceiling start to swim once more like a cheap Renoir, a fake Van Gogh, a pop Monet, a blue Degas. I breathe you. I need you. -Over The Rhine, Jack’s Valentine I’ve had those lyrics running through my head since January; always winter, never Christmas* has sort of become my theme song this year. I apologize if I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but when your days consist of shivering, coughing, and cleaning up after sick peeps, you start to view the world through crazy eyes. And wake up every morning craving coffee. And chocolate cake. Although, I’ve discovered, eating cake for breakfast doesn’t really make my day any better, in fact, all that butter and sugar first thing can make it rather worse. So that’s when I came up with this breakfast bowl: peanut butter granola with cacao nibs and chocolate. Just a […]

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no-churn olive oil ice cream with vanilla bean

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:40:00 +0000

Olive oil is excellent paired with sweet milk and vanilla bean. I love surprising guests with it for dessert and watch their furrowed brows relax after taking one bite, realizing it is, in fact, delicious. This tastes amazing on warm Brownies, or served alongside Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream.

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Blood Orange Loaf Cake

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:13:00 +0000

I’m sort of obsessed with blood oranges, as you may have guessed after seeing my Olive Oil Sugar Cookies with Blood Orange Icing. As I am immersed in gray winter days, the shock of bright purple segments hiding under that rusty orange peel brings light and warmth into our little home. This loaf cake is the perfect vessel for these oranges. It’s crammed full of zest, has a tender crumb, and is brushed with a blood orange glaze. The oil keeps the loaf light and moist, and the orange flavor is perfectly sweet-tart. There is some sun in this snow country after all. This recipe is adapted from my first book, The Vanilla Bean Baking Book, it is a variation of the Lemon Bread on page 96. I like to use regular orange juice in the bread base, and blood orange juice in the icing so it turns a pretty pink shade, but you can mix and match as you see fit. More Blood Orange Recipes:

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chocolate olive oil bundt cake with coffee and oats

Sarah Kieffer — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

It’s New Year’s Day, and after a Christmas holiday filled with too many sweet treats, I probably should be sharing a different recipe with you, something full of bright green vegetables and hearty legumes; a recipe that clearly declares my healthy resolutions and good intentions for this coming year. But I’m not. I made this cake, and after one bite decided it’s the only way I wanted to start this New Year out. In it’s defense, there are some healthy aspects to it. There is oat flour and olive oil. Fresh brewed coffee is basically hot water [right?]. Dark chocolate is good for your heart and can reduce bad cholesteral [I’m not making this up]. So really, aside from some white flour and two packed cups a few ounces of sugar, this cake really is good for you. Also, I should really mention that it’s quite tasty. I wasn’t sure about all the flavors together – and the bite of batter I snuck tasted overwhelming like olive oil. But once the cake cooled, and I cut my first piece, the flavors had melded together and complimented each other nicely. The chocolate is in the forefront – deep dark cocoa bloomed […]

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