If you love Italian cookies, these delicious Italian cookies made with olive oil and cinnamon are for you. They are the perfect treat for any occasion, they use minimal ingredients, are so delicious and they are so easy to make.
These Italian cinnamon olive oil cookies are one of my family's favorite easy cookies to make. They have all the delicious flavor that Italian bakery cookies have in Italy but these are usually baked by Italian Moms and grandmas (like mine) when they want to bake something fast with minimal ingredients.
Italian Moms and Grandmothers are resourceful!
They taste like a shortbread cookie that has butter but they are made with olive oil. I like adding a little mandarin zest, which adds even more flavor to the cookies. When you combine that with the cinnamon, these cookies are so delicious. You don't really taste the olive oil in these cookies.
If you are wondering about their texture, they are thick and firm and have a wonderfully delicate texture when eaten. They are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea and the perfect easy cookie when you are craving something sweet.
What You Will Need
Full recipe ingredients and quantities below:
- All-purpose flour
- Mandarin zest. You can also use orange zest.
- Regular olive oil: This may sometimes be called light olive oil. You can use extra virgin olive oil if that is what you have on hand. It will give it a fruitier flavor.
- Kosher salt
- Granulated sugar
- Ground cinnamon
Ingredients Tip
If you can, look for regular olive oil for this recipe since it has a milder flavor than extra virgin olive oil. It is also a lot cheaper!
How To Make Italian Cinnamon Olive Oil Cookie
- Sift: Sift flour into a large bowl then add the salt and whisk together.
- Mix: Make a well in the center of the flour, add sugar, mandarin zest, and olive oil, and mix with a spoon.
- Rest: Let the flour rest for about 10 minutes. If you can grab the dough, squeeze it together and it holds, then the dough is ready. If the dough falls apart, add 1-2 more tablespoons of olive oil and mix well.
- Shape The Cookies: Scoop the dough into your hand and gently roll it into a ball. If it falls apart, give it a squeeze and gently re-roll it. Place on a greased or lined cookie sheet. Press the dough down a little so it is about ½ inch thick.
- Topping: Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the top of the cookies.
- Bake: In a pre-heated 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes or when you start to see the bottom of the cookies start to lightly brown.
- Cool: on cookie sheet then transfer to a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes.
Variations
You can easily make these olive oil cookies your own by switching things up. Here are some ideas:
- Press sprinkles into the top of the dough before baking instead of using cinnamon.
- Add some vanilla extract to the dough for a vanilla flavor.
- Add the cinnamon into the dough instead of on top by mixing the cinnamon in with the flour before mixing the ingredients.
- If you love olive oil flavor, go ahead and use extra virgin olive oil instead of regular olive oil.
Storing
These olive oil cookies can be stored for a while on the counter covered (they do not need an air-tight container). You can store them for up to one week this way.
Recipe Faqs
Olive oil is great in many Italian baking recipes from olive oil cakes, to cookies, and even pudding.
When baking cookies, regular olive oil works the best. It is lighter in flavor and less expensive.
Extra virgin olive oil is the first press of the olive oil process. It is purer and has a fruitier flavor. Regular olive oil comes from the second and third presses and has a lighter flavor and is better for everyday cooking.
More Italian Cookie Recipes You'll Love
If you love these olive oil cookies, you may also like these other Italian cookies:
Italian Cinnamon Olive Oil Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups All-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Regular olive oil
- ⅔ cup Granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon Mandarin zest or orange zest
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
Topping
- 2 tablespoon Granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Sift flour into a large bowl then add the salt and whisk together.2 ¼ cups All-purpose flour, ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
- Make a well in the center of the flour, add sugar, mandarin zest, and olive oil, and mix with a spoon.⅔ cup Granulated sugar, ¾ cup Regular olive oil, 2 tablespoon Mandarin zest
- Let the flour rest for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, if you can grab the dough, squeeze it together and it holds, then the dough is ready. If the dough falls apart, add 1-2 more tablespoons of olive oil and mix well.
- Scoop the dough into your hand and gently roll it into a ball. If it falls apart, give it a squeeze and gently re-roll it. Place on a greased or lined cookie sheet.
- Press the dough down a little so it is about ½ inch thick.
- Make a cinnamon sugar mixture by combining the two and mixing well.1 tablespoon Ground cinnamon, 2 tablespoon Granulated sugar
- Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the top of the cookies.
- Bake in the preheated 400-degree oven on the middle rack for about 10 minutes or when you start to see the bottom of the cookies start to brown lightly. Check by lifting one with a spatula.
- Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes.
Meg
Thank you for sharing this recipe