Sesame Seed-Olive Oil Cookies
“Soon we will all be allowed out again with regularity, to stretch our legs after the long, cramped ride that is winter here.” -Margaret Roach, and I shall have some peace there
I am reading this beautiful book about a woman who leaves her successful New York career in publishing to find a quiet, authentic life in nature. I was reading it this weekend at our cabin, and quote jumped out at me and hit home. Actually the entire book has been resonating with me pretty intensely, having just left my own sixteen year career in advertising software to pursue my own passions of food and wine. Its comforting to know that others have gone before me and survived. Even thrived eventually, but its not always pretty along the way. Good to know.
Spring doesn’t feel as near in the Catskills as it does in Brooklyn, with icy snow still covering our garden beds and ice floating on the lake. It was a girls weekend and my friends Ellen and Natalia joined me in the country for a couple days of cooking, long talks and lots of laughter. This cookie recipe is based on a similar one from Radically Simple by Rozanne Gold, a cookbook that Natalia worked on. We exchanged the almond extract for lemon and added lemon zest and used a more healthful sugar. They are a perfect breakfast cookie with coffee, not too sweet. They are also very easily whipped up when one just has to have a delicious cookie in the middle of the day.
Sesame Seed-Olive Oil Cookie
Makes about 25 cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup turbinado sugar
2 extra large eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon extract
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2/3 cups toasted sesame seeds
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and extract
4. Add the egg mixture to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms. It will be crumbly and slightly oily.
5. Form the dough into small circle about one inch in diameter. Roll the top and sides of each cookie in sesame seeds.
6. Place one inch apart on the baking sheets and bake 25 minutes until golden and just firm.
Adapted from Radically Simple by Rozanne Gold.
I've recently moved my life from Brooklyn, New York to Sonoma County, California to pursue a life in food and wine. I am now the executive chef at