Italian Lemon Cookies with Olive Oil Recipe
These shortbread-like cookies are crisp yet slightly soft inside, scented with lemon and good olive oil. In Italy, similar bakes are often served with afternoon coffee – simple yet elegant, perfect when you want to bring a bit of sunny Italy into your home.
In Italy, simple sweet bakes made with olive oil are often served with espresso in bars and homes, especially in olive‑growing regions. They’re a lighter alternative to buttery biscotti, closer to everyday baking than to festive desserts.
These Italian lemon cookies with olive oil combine the crispness of classic biscuits with the gently fruity aroma of good olive oil. Lemon zest adds freshness that contrasts beautifully with the sweetness of the dough. They taste like little biscotti from a café in Rome, yet they’re made from a few simple pantry ingredients.
Why this version works
- Using olive oil instead of butter gives thin, crisp edges and a moist center without any creaming.
- Combining zest with a little lemon juice boosts the aroma without watering down the dough.
- A short chill firms up the fat and keeps the cookies from spreading too much.
- Taking them out while the tops are still pale ensures they stay soft in the middle once cooled.
Chef's tips
Use really good, mild olive oil – its flavor will be noticeable, so it’s not worth reaching for the cheapest option. Don’t overwork the dough; mix only until combined so the cookies stay tender rather than hard. Watch the baking time – the edges should be golden but the centers still slightly soft, as the cookies will finish setting after you take them out of the oven.
How to serve
Serve them with afternoon coffee or espresso, ideally on a small plate next to the cup, just like in an Italian bar. They’re also perfect as a sweet pairing with prosecco at a home aperitivo-style gathering. On a hot day, I like to serve them with iced lemon tea when friends drop by unexpectedly on the balcony.
Watch out for
- Don’t add extra flour right away – the dough thickens noticeably after chilling.
- Don’t wait for the cookies to brown all over, or they’ll harden as they cool.
- Don’t flatten the cookies thicker than about 1 cm, so the centers bake through evenly.
Substitutions
- You can replace up to 1/3 of the olive oil with neutral rapeseed (canola) oil if your olive oil is very intense.
- You can swap the lemon for orange for a milder, sweeter aroma.
- You can substitute up to 1/3 of the wheat flour with light spelt flour, bearing in mind the texture will be slightly more delicate and crumbly.
Ingredients
- flour type 450–550 - 250 g
- sugar - 120 g
- olive oil preferably mild in flavor - 80 ml
- egg large - 1 piece
- egg yolk - 1 piece
- lemon you’ll need the zest and juice - 1 piece
- baking powder - 1 teaspoon
- sugar for sprinkling, optional - 2 tablespoon
- pinch of salt - 1 pinch
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Line a baking tray with baking paper and smooth it out with your hand so it lies flat and doesn’t wrinkle under the cookies.
- Wash the lemon thoroughly, pour boiling water over it and dry. Finely grate only the yellow part of the zest until very fragrant, and squeeze about 2 tablespoons of juice from half the lemon, discarding the seeds.
- In a large bowl combine the olive oil, sugar, egg, egg yolk, lemon juice and zest, and salt. Whisk for 1–2 minutes, until the mixture lightens slightly and you can no longer feel sugar crystals under the spoon.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder into another bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until combined and no dry streaks remain – the dough should be soft, slightly sticky, but able to hold its shape.
- If the dough spreads quickly on the spoon, chill it in the fridge for 10–15 minutes. It’s ready to shape when, after scooping, it holds a little mound and only slowly flattens on the spoon.
- Pinch off walnut‑sized portions of dough and roll them into balls between your hands. If the dough sticks, lightly moisten your hands with water or dust them with a little flour until the balls are smooth.
- Place the balls on the tray, leaving about 3 cm between them. Gently flatten each ball with your fingers to about 1 cm thick – the surface may be slightly cracked, but the edges should be even.
- Put the tray in the oven and bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are just lightly golden and the tops remain pale and slightly domed. The centers may look soft – when touched, they should spring back gently.
- After baking, leave the cookies on the tray for 5 minutes until the bottoms firm up slightly. Then transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely – the centers will soften while the edges stay crisp.
- Just before serving, dust the cookies with a thin veil of icing sugar, only lightly “fogging” them so as not to overpower the lemon aroma.
Storage
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to several days. If they soften, you can briefly re-crisp them in a low oven.
I sometimes bake these cookies in the morning before work – the dough comes together in 15 minutes, and the rest happens in the oven while my first coffee brews. I pack a few into a box and take them to my afternoon online meetings as a little reward between calls.
