Every holiday celebration needs gingerbread. It’s a rule.
Now try making those amazing golden brown cookies with olive oil. A new depth of flavor and intensity? Yes, please.

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cup all purpose flour

• 2 tsp ground ginger

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 3/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

• 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 1/2 cup molasses

• 1 large egg

• 1/3 cup + 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

2. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together 3 cups flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together brown sugar, molasses, egg, and olive oil until creamy and combined.

4. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture, and beat until dough starts to form and clump together.

5. Coat flat work surface or cutting board with some all-purpose flour. You can use up to 1/4 cup flour

6. Gently knead dough into a round disk.

7. Olive oil cookie dough is sticky, so you will need to lightly flour a silicone mat and place it (flour side down) over the dough. You can also use two sheets of parchment paper.

8. Carefully roll until out dough until approximately 1-cm thick.

9. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shape. Dip a thin spatular into flour and gently transfer cut cookies at least 1-inch apart onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes for shapes approximately 4-inches long, 12 minutes for larger sizes.

10. Remember, olive oil cookies do not brown. If you bake for too long, you will have firm, crisp cookies.

11. Let sit on baking sheet for 10 minutes after removal from oven, and then using a thin spatula, transfer to a cooling rack.

12. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

You know what the holidays need more of? Chocolate.

Here is our take on a classic chocolate cookie and we are absolutely here for it!

1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1 tsp instant coffee granules

• 2 large eggs, room temp

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.

2. In a double boiler (or glass, microwave safe bowl) melt the chocolate chips along with the olive oil and instant coffee. Stir frequently until melted and well combined.

3. Add the eggs and sugar to stand-up mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

4. Nn a medium bowl, sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until combined and uniform in color; set aside.

5. Once the egg/sugar mixture has thickened, add in the vanilla. Then add the melted chocolate mixture and gently fold it into the egg/sugar mixture until totally combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

6. The dough will be like a very sticky, thick brownie batter. Allow it to sit at room temperature, uncovered, for 30 minutes. This allows the batter to stiffen up a bit so you can roll the dough balls.

7. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop cookies onto one baking sheet. Gently roll and smooth each dough ball.

8. Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies have cracked across the top. Allow to cool to room temperature before enjoying.

   Enjoy!

Tis the season for Christmas cookies! This is a twist on our favorite shortbread favorite - pistachio and olive oil pair wonderfully together for an almost-savory treat that goes perfect with coffee.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tbsp corn starch

• 1/2 cup sugar (you can swap in turbino sugar for a deeper flavor)

• 2/3 cup olive oil

• 1 tspwater

• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, corn starch and sugar together in a food processor.

2. Add the olive oil and water and mix until it forms a soft dough.

3. Add to a floured board and kneed in half the chopped pistachios.

4. Chill the mixture in the fridge for about one hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

6. Roll the dough out to about ¾ cm thickness. Use your favorite holiday cookie cutter to cut into shapes and place on the baking sheet.

7. Use the remaining chopped pistachios to press into the tops of the cookies.

8. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

9. Leave to cool before serving.

   Enjoy!

Stuffing can make or break Thanksgiving and the best place to start? Good bread turned into good croutons.
We use locally made sourdough bread that is cubbed and left to sit out overnight. Coat the bread cubes in Grove 45 Extra Virgin Olive Oil and your preferred spices ( we recommend an Italian blend) and then bake at 200 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Then use them for the base of your stuffing, below.

Ingredients:

1 loaf worth of Sourdough Grove 45 Croutons
4 stalks chopped celery
1 white onion, diced
1 garlic, minced fine
6 tablespoons butter
3 cups chicken broth
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Set croutons aside in a large bowl
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter.
Add celery and onions and stir for 2-3 minutes until celery is tender and onions are translucent. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute longer until fragrant.
Add celery mixture to bread bowl.
Whisk together eggs, Italian seasoning, broth, and salt and pepper.
Pour half over the bread, toss to coat.
Pour remaining half over the bread, and toss to coat once more.
Transfer bread to a greased 9x13 baking pan.
Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Uncover and bake another 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Serve fresh or allow to cool completely, then cover tightly and refrigerate up to 5 days.

Enjoy!

The perfect, easy Thanksgiving appetizer, our Grove 45 Bruschetta toasts are fun to make, easy to assemble and will be a crowd favorite.

Ingredients
Two French baugettes, sliced thin
Grove 45 Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Goat Cheese, chevre, brie or other soft, spreadable cheese
Bacon or other charcuterie
Arugala or other leafy green
Figs, halved
Cranberry spread
Pomegranate seeds
Honey Crisp Apple, sliced
Blue Cheese
Garlic clove, minced extra fine

Slice your bread into thin pieces. Combined olive oil and minced garlic and brush over bread slices. Toast under your broiler until nice and golden, then flip and repeat on the other side.

Once the crostini are toasted, spread each with a base layer of your preferred cheese.
Top with preferred combo of fixings.
Drizzle with Grove 45 Olive Oil to finish

Possible combinations:
Bacon, arugala and blue cheese
Goat cheese and cranberry spread
Apple, walnut and goat cheese
Arugala, brie and pomegrante seeds
Herbed chevre, fig and honey

The possibilities are endless!
Enjoy.

The holidays are officially upon us, and if you’re anything like us, you’re already planning your Thanksgiving menu. Below is the recipe for one of our favorite holiday side dishes. The roasted carrots are sweet and tender, and the pecans provide a nice crunch while the cheese is creamy and rich. This recipe comes from Michael over at Inspired by Charm and we are just obsessed!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds rainbow carrots - peeled

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter - cut into pats

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 4 ounces goat cheese - crumbled

• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves to garnish

Candied Pecans:

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 cup roughly chopped pecan halves

• 1/4 teaspoon flaked sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

• Then line a baking sheet with foil. Place the carrots in a single layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and evenly distribute the pats of butter. Also, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cinnamon.

• Place in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the carrots are just fork tender. During baking, turn the carrots 3 or 4 times.

• While the carrots are roasting, prepare the candied pecans by melting the butter in a small pan on low heat. Once the butter is melted, add the maple syrup, brown sugar, and pecans. Stir about 2 minutes until the mixture thickens.

• Remove the candied pecans from the heat and stir in the flaked sea salt. Set aside.

• Once the carrots are cooked, put them in a serving dish. Sprinkle them evenly with the candied pecans and goat cheese. Finish the dish with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves.

  Enjoy!

What a better way to celebrate the season of all things pumpkin than with pumpkin raviolis? These are a little more labor intensive than some of our other recipes but man oh man are they worth it. This recipe comes from A Wicked Whisk and we’re loving it!

Ingredients

Ravioli Dough

• 3 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 2 teaspoons water

• extra flour for rolling

Pumpkin Ravoili Filling

• 1 cup ricotta cheese

• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree

• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese grated

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• non-stick cooking spray

Apple Sage Butter

• 1/2 cup butter

• 16-18 fresh sage leaves chopped or ripped

• 1 apple - gala or honeycrisp peeled, cored, diced

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup walnuts chopped

Instructions

To Make the Ravioli Dough

• Easy! To make Pumpkin Ravioli in Apple Sage Butter Sauce, start by making your homemade ravioli dough. On your clean counter top or a large cutting board, add your flour and salt and lightly mix with a fork to combine.  Now, using your hand, made a well in the middle of the flour, almost so it looks like a volcano.  Next, add your eggs, olive oil and water to the middle of the volcano and lightly whisk the eggs together a bit, doing your best not to let your eggs escape and break out of the volcano. 

• Now, using your hands, lightly start combining the flour and the egg mixture and once the dough starts to look like ... dough .... start kneeding it together and folding the dough on top of itself over and over again for about 10 minutes. Then form your ravioli dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit undisturbed on your kitchen counter for one hour.  

To Make the Pumpkin Ravioli Filling

• After that hour has passed and you are ready to make your pumpkin ravioli, make your pumpkin ravioli filling by combining ricotta and pumpkin in a large mixing bowl. Add in the parmesan, egg, garlic powder, brown sugar and spices and mix to combine and set aside. 

To Make the Pumpkin Ravioli

• On your countertop or a large cutting board, unwrap your ravioli dough and tear off a chunk about the size of a tennis ball. Throw some flour down on your work surface and a little on the top of the dough you are about to roll out and then using a rolling pin, start rolling the dough out and away from you, back and forth and side to side until you have a rectangle type shape about 16 inches long and about 10 inches wide. 

• At this time, grab your ravioli tray and with non-stick cooking spray, lightly coat the top of the tray and the bottom of the press tray. Gently move your dough to lighly rest on top of your ravioli tray and lightly press down on the dough by placing the press tray on top to create the well. Gently remove the press tray and using a spoon, fill your ravioli wells with your pumpkin filling, taking care not to over fill of have your filling extend past the wells. Then roll out another sheet of dough exactly as you did the first and lay it gently on top of your filled ravioli. Take your rolling pin and lightly roll your pin over the dough to seal the ravioli. Using your finger or the back of a spoon, carefully remove the excess dough from the edges of the frame and lightly run your finger down all of the cross grooves to make sure all sides of your ravioli are sealed. Lift your tray and carefully turn upsidedown on a parchement paper lined baking tray. The ravioli should easily release from the tray and then you can gently tear them apart from each other. Collect the dough scraps and re-roll to make another batch of raviolis. At this point, decide if you want to freeze them to be served later or if you are cooking them now.

• Add your fresh ravioli to a pot of boiling water and cook for 5-6 minutes. While your ravioli is cooking, add chopped walnuts to a small pan and toast over medium high heat. You want to stir them often or they will burn. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until they become fragrant. Once they are toasted remove from heat and set aside. Next, add butter to a large skillet and melt over medium high heat. Add in your diced apple and apple cider vinegar and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.  Add in your chopped fresh sage and cook for 2 - 3 minutes so that it starts to sizzle and fry. Once your ravioli has cooked, drain the water and add the pumkin ravioli to the sage butter and stir to coat. Serve immediately and top with toasted walnuts.

Fall is officially here, the days are getting shorter and dinners are getting heartier. This is an easy, one-pan dinner that’s perfect for a Friday night. This comes to us from Grab A Plate.

Ingredients

• 4 Bratwurst sausages

• 1 (12-ounch) bottle dark lager beer

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 white onion, cut into large pieces

• 2-1/2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half

• 1/2 pound small white potatoes, washed and quartered

• 1-1/2 cups carrots, cut into rounds

• 2 apples, cut into quarters

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• 3 tablespoons mustard

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

• Grove 45 Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Salt and black pepper to season

Instructions

1. Pierce the sausages with a sharp knife. Add the beer to a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the sausages and garlic. You may need to add some water to the pan (just enough to cover the sausages).

2. Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to medium-low for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.

3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

4. In a small bowl, combine the apple cider vinegar, mustard, and brown sugar. Mix to combine and stir until the brown sugar dissolves.

5. Add the vegetables and apples to a large bowl. Pour the mustard mixture over the vegetables and apples, and toss to coat.

6. Transfer the vegetables to the baking sheet. Top with the brats. Season with extra virgin olive oil, caraway seeds and salt and black pepper.

7. Cook for 45-50 minutes, tossing once halfway through the cooking time (and flipping the brats), or until the vegetables are browned and tender.

8. Remove and serve warm.

It’s officially pumpkin (and soup) season! Can you tell we’re excited?

Check out this recipe adapted from The Kitchn for quick and easy pumpkin soup. And don’t forget the toppings!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons Grove 45 EVOO (plus more for garnish)

• 1 medium yellow onion, very finely chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped super fine

• 2 cups pumpkin purée

• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

• 1/4 teaspon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth

• 2 teaspoons brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

• Spicy, toasted pumpkin seeds, bacon crumbles, chopped herbs, flake salt for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook the aromatics. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the pumpkin and spices. Add the pumpkin purée, thyme, salt, cumin, black pepper, ginger, and cayenne pepper and cook over medium-low until steaming and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the broth. Add the broth and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. (The mixture will bubble.)

4. Add the brown sugar and cream. Remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar and heavy cream. (At this point, for a creamier soup, you can use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to purée until it reaches your desired consistency).

5. Garnish and serve. Serve warm, garnished with the pumpkin seeds, flaky salt, fresh herbs, bacon crumbles and Grove 45 Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Enjoy!

Chocolate mousse is already absolute heaven. Add a recipe with the depth and flavor of extra virgin olive oil? Sign us up! Check out the recipe below from William Sonoma!

Ingredients

• 6 oz. (170 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

• 3 egg yolks, plus 2 egg whites

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

• 3 Tbs. warm water

• 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

• 1/4 cup (2 oz./50 g) granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) heavy cream

• 2 tsp. confectioners’ sugar

• Chocolate shavings for serving

Directions

 1. In a heatproof bowl set over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water, stir the chocolate until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, melt it in a microwave.) Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then whisk in the egg yolks, olive oil, warm water and salt until well blended.

 2. In a separate, clean bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat together the egg whites and the cream of tartar until frothy. Add the granulated sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Fold about one-third of the egg-white mixture into the chocolate mixture until no white streaks remain. Gently fold in the remaining egg-white mixture until well incorporated.

 3. Evenly divide the mousse among 4 to 6 dessert cups or wineglasses, cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

 4. In a bowl, combine the cream and confectioners’ sugar and beat with a balloon whisk until medium-stiff peaks form. Spoon an equal amount of the whipped cream on top of each bowl and sprinkle with chocolate shavings, if you like. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Enjoy!