Review and Giveaway: Olive Oil Desserts Cookbook

April 14, 2011

Yep another giveaway heading you way :) I love giving back to all you my amazing readers :)

Today I am giving away and reviewing

Olive Oil Desserts is a cookbook that focuses on using Olive Oil rather than butter, margarine and shortening for baking. I am a huge fan of Olive Oil in cooking so I was really interested in review this book:

A Bit More About the Book:

Those yearning to create more healthy treats will learn how to bake without the fats and hydrogenated oils found in common dessert recipes with this lavishly illustrated cookbook. Designed specifically for baking with olive oil, the recipes eliminate key ingredients—butter, hydrogenated oils, margarine, and shortening—that are staples in many traditional desserts. In addition to household favorites such as toll cookies, brownies, and apple pie, the cookbook features instructions for making more than 60 mouth-watering treats, among them chocolate chip buttermilk cake, silky cheesecake with strawberries, lemon sugar cookies, pecan coconut bars, and apple cinnamon rolls. Hints such as using egg substitutes and other ingredients to further lower cholesterol intake, substituting lactose-free options for those suffering from milk sensitivities, and a guide to the many varieties of olive oil are also included.

What Budget Savvy Diva Thought

I loved this book! I love baking and I never really feel comfortable putting a stick of butter — I love you Paula Dean but I cannot but sticks of butter on everything – but using Olive Oil is so much better. The recipes are laid out well and easy to follow, and it’s great knowing the desserts I make aren’t as bad as what I used to make.

Here is my favorite recipe:

***A New Toll Cookie***
2/3 c. pure olive oil
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. butter extract (I didn’t have it so I omitted)
1 Tbsp. milk
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped pecans (optional)
********
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat large cookie sheet with olive oil cooking spray.

 

2. In a mixer bowl add olive oil, sugar and brown sugar. Blend until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, vanilla & butter extracts, and milk.
3. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Blend well.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls or medium sized cookie scoop onto prepared cookie sheets.
5. Bake 9-11 minutes. Cook on wire racks.
How simple and easy :)
Budget Savvy Diva Rating: 8.5/10
The cost of the book on amazon is around $16.75 ( not to bad)
I really like the recipe layout in the book – plenty of photos :)
The only thing that I find a drawback is the cost of using olive oil in baking. This is the coupon diva coming out in me – I can easily score VERY inexpensive butter – sometimes even FREE – Olive oil I hardly score a discount. This really is the only drawback – and of course using olive oil is much healthier for my family….so that wins out in the end :)
Win It!
One Budget Savvy Diva reader will win a copy of Olive Oil Desserts

How to Win

 

Go To Budget Savvy Diva’s Facebook - Make sure To Like Budget Savvy Diva

 

Then Click on Photos and check out “Current Giveaways” Photo Album – the SUPER simple directions to enter the contest will be there. Feel free to enter other giveaways posed in the photo album

 

 

Giveaway Ends April 21th

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