Olive Oil Cookies - a Healthy (Delicious) Greek Tradition

By Nancy Gaifyllia

greekfood.about.com

Greek Sesame (Olive Oil) Cookies

Photo © N. Gaifyllia, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Greece is known for its olive oil - and for fabulous sweets (among other things) - and the tradition of sweets made with olive oil is centuries old.

You really don't have to be paying much attention to the worldwide discussion going on about trans, saturated, unsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats in order to love these Greek cookies made with olive oil - but, of course, many of us are - so these cookies are a smart (and fabulously delicious) choice when making sweets for our families.

What You Need to Know About Olive Oil Cookies

• They're delicious - don't worry about an oily taste; there is none.
• You don't have to use the most expensive olive oil. Do use a good one, but save the premium stuff for dishes where the olive oil isn't cooked.
• The texture will generally be wonderfully crumbly and somewhat dryer than other types of cookies, but the raw dough will be oilier.
• The cookies will stay where they're put on the cookie sheet, so drop cookies won't be pretty. Form them into shapes, or roll into ropes and form spirals, figure 8s, circles, or twists (great fun for kids, too).
• Cookies made with olive oil keep longer than other types of cookies. Stored in airtight containers, they keep well for a few months (if they aren't eaten before then).