Baking & sweets · Vegan
Koulourakia portokaliou
Crunchy Greek orange cookies made with olive oil instead of butter. Cinnamon, clove and a lot of orange.
- Prep30 min
- Cook25 min
- Makes45 cookies
- LevelEasy
- Olive oil250 ml
Why the oil matters here
Olive oil replaces butter completely. It makes the cookies crisp outside and tender inside, and it keeps them fresh for weeks. Use a round, mellow oil like our Classic, so the orange and cinnamon can shine.
These are the cookies that are always in a tin in every Greek kitchen. No butter and no eggs: just olive oil, fresh orange juice and warm spices. In Greece we bake them during Lent, but honestly we eat them all year, with coffee in the morning or tea in the evening.
Because there is no butter, the olive oil gives them everything: the crunch, the colour and that soft fruity taste in the background. A round, mellow oil works best here.
Method
-
1
Mix oil and sugar
In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil and sugar for a minute, until the sugar starts to dissolve.
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2
Add the orange
Dissolve the baking soda in the orange juice (it will foam up). Pour it into the bowl with the orange zest and the brandy, and stir.
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3
Make the dough
Mix the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon and clove. Add it to the bowl little by little, kneading by hand, until you have a soft dough that no longer sticks to your fingers. Don't add more flour than you need.
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4
Rest
Cover the dough and let it rest. Heat the oven to 180°C (fan 170°C) and line two trays with baking paper.
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5
Shape
Take small pieces of dough (about a walnut) and roll them into sticks about 10 cm long. Press the tops into sesame seeds and place on the trays.
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6
Bake
Bake until golden brown. They will be soft when they come out of the oven.
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7
Cool
Let them cool completely on the tray. They become crunchy as they cool. Dust some with icing sugar if you like.
Tip
Keep them in a tin or a jar with a tight lid. They stay crunchy for up to two weeks, if they last that long.
Try it another way
Twist the sticks into small braids or rings, or swap the sesame for chopped walnuts. For a softer cookie, bake 3–4 minutes less.
