Traditional, easy to make and even suitable for vegans. prepare this olive oil shortbread recipe and enjoy one of the most traditional Christmas desserts.
Polvorones are one of the quintessential Christmas sweets in Spain. They are normally made with lard, a product widely used in our confectionery. However, many people find it strange to eat sweets with this type of fat which, because it is not typical of other cuisines, is sometimes difficult to find.
For that reason I wanted to bring to the blog this shortbread recipe with olive oil, because they are also very rich prepared in this way. In addition, since it does not include any product of animal origin, it can be consumed by vegans and vegetarians.
What olive oil is used to make polvorones
The oil that you should use to make these homemade shortbreads is to everyone’s taste. If this is your first time preparing them, start by using a variety of mild olive oil. If you like them and want to repeat, go for a little more intense. If possible, use an extra virgin olive oil.
To make these polvorones that you see in the photos, I used an extra virgin of the variety hojiblanca. The flavor of the oil is noticeable, but it is not predominant. To my taste they are very good.
Obviously, they could be made with sunflower oil or other types of seeds, but they will lose part of their grace, the truth.
With all this said, let’s see how homemade olive oil polvorones are made.
Ingredients to make olive oil polvorones. Quantities for 16 small units
- 320g of flour
- 100 g of raw almonds (better if it is Marcona)
- 150g icing sugar
- 120g olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- zest of 1/2 orange
- – TO DECORATE –
- 2 tablespoons of raw sesame
- powdered sugar
How to make homemade shortbread with olive oil
Toast the almonds and flour
- We start by toasting the almonds. Place them on the baking tray, separated from each other, and bake them at 180ºC for about 8-10 minutes. We just want them to take on a bit of color, because if they are roasted too much, they will become bitter. When they are ready, book them.
- Secondly, We are going to toast the flour. Arrange a sheet of parchment paper on the baking tray and pour the flour there, spreading it well. Bake at 180ºC for about 15 or 20 minutes. Halfway through the process, open the oven and stir in the flour so that the toasting is even. You should get a flour with a slight blonde color, not much darker. Booking.
Prepare the dough for your homemade polvorones
- Once the almonds have cooled down a bit, transfer them to a food processor (or similar appliance) and shred them completely. Do it carefully, without going overboard, because if you grind them too much they will turn into a paste that will not be used to make polvorones.
- Add the icing sugar (previously sifted), cinnamon and orange zest. Blend again for just a few seconds so that everything is mixed. Check that there are no lumps.
- Now transfer this mixture to a large bowl. There add the sifted toasted flour and give it a few turns with a spoon to integrate it. It is important that you sift the flour because after baking it remains very caked.
- Add the olive oil and mix it up. You can start with a spoon, but later it will be more comfortable to do it with your hands. Work the preparation until you get a homogeneous mass that does not stick to your hands. You will notice that it has a crumbly texture, but don’t worry; polvorones are like that.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it rest for about 30 minutes. This way the flour will absorb the olive oil well.
Shape the polvorones and bake them
- After the rest period, roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is between 1.5 and 2 cm thick. So that it does not stick to you, you can spread it between the film that you have used to wrap it and a baking paper. That way you won’t have to add more flour.
- Cut the shortbread with a cutter about 5 cm in diameter. Place them on the baking sheet, covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle them with a little sesame if you like (I did it with half).
- Bake the polvorones at 180ºC for about 15 minutes or until golden. Be careful not to overcook, as they will be bitter. As soon as the edges start to brown, remove them from the oven.
- Let them rest on the tray for a few minutes. If you touch them at this time they will break, so you will need to wait a few minutes.
- Finally, when they are completely cold, you can add a bit of icing sugar on top to decorate. I did it with the other half of my olive oil polvorones, to which I had not put sesame.
Tips for making homemade polvorones with olive oil
- Orange zest is optional, although in this polvorón it is very rich. You can not add it or substitute it with lemon zest, if you prefer.
- Do not crush the almonds too much. It is important that they are well ground, but if you grind too much they will begin to release their oil and you will get a cream instead of ground almonds.
- However, if you prefer that in the olive oil polvorón the almonds are noticeable, do not crush them completely, leave a bigger piece.
- Try to use icing sugar that you have bought already made, that is not homemade. Industrial icing sugar has the finest grain, which helps not to notice anything in the texture of the polvorón.
- Depending on how you toasted the flour, it is possible that your dough admits more or less amount of olive oil.
- Homemade olive oil polvorones last many days in perfect condition. Take the precaution of keep them in a tightly closed can or container. You can put a piece of parchment paper between the floors so they don’t get damaged, or even better, wrap them in the typical shortbread paper.
