Using olive oil when baking deserts makes a good substitute for butter as it’s packed with antioxidants, making your sweet treats “healthier”, or at least making you feel slightly less guilty when indulging. Olive oil especially, extra virgin olive, oil can also bring awesome flavour into your deserts, due to some oils having peppery flavour you can achieve interesting sweet and savoury combinations.

This recipe combines three of our favourite things, red wine, cookies (now who doesn’t love cookies?) and, of course, olives! Olives and red wine go great together and mixing them up with some cookie dough and baking them just takes them to the next level.

Olive Oil Cookies with Rosemary & Red Wine

INGREDIENTS
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon Piment d’Espelette A.O.C, smoked red pepper flakes or regular red pepper flakes (optional)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil, plus a little for cookie sheet
3/4 cup dry red wine