We challenged some talented food bloggers to create baking recipes using our extra virgin olive oil and flour from our friends at Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods. We were blown away by the high-quality recipes they delivered — everything from almond cranberry chocolate chip quick bread to a spicy and moist gingerbread cake just in time for the holidays.

The recipes, which we’ll be featuring here, are part of our “Baking a Better Holiday” focus this month on using extra virgin olive oil instead of butter in baking.  (Click here to see a table for how to substitute olive oil for butter.) A good extra virgin olive oil delivers wonderful flavor in baked goods and helps ensure they are light and moist. (Click here to see more recipes and baking tips in our December eNewsletter.)Below is our first batch of blogger recipes. Stay tuned for more later this month, including gluten-free recipes. In the meantime, cruise over to our Facebook page where you can win great prizes by posting your ideas for combining our oil with a fine product from Bob’s Red Mill.

Spicy and Moist Gingerbread Cake “Full of the flavors of the holidays, this gingerbread will bring back memories of your childhood delights,” Jane Evans Bonacci, the talent behind the excellent blog The Heritage Cook, says. She says don’t be intimidated with all the spices in the recipe. “They balance well against the molasses, ginger and olive oil.” Bonacci also says the cake “improves with time. So make it a day or two in advance if you like.” (Click here to see the recipe.)

Almond Cranberry Chocolate Chip Quick Bread "Using almond flour in quick breads provides flavor, but more importantly, a supportive crumb structure,” Marnely Rodriguez , who writes the great blog Cooking with Books, says. “Living in New England, fresh cranberries were an obvious addition to cut the sweet buttery taste and add some tartness.” That buttery taste, by the way, comes from her use of our Artois Ranch Mild & Buttery extra virgin olive oil. We’re confident you can also get great results using our Arbequina or Everyday oils, too. (Click here to see the recipe.)

Iced Sweet Potato and Orange-Spice Loaf

“When I was deciding on a recipe, I knew I wanted to use sweet potatoes and orange zest  to make a loaf cake that was flavorful without being too greasy, too crumbly or too dry,” Lori Twitchell writes in her beautiful blog, Lemons and Lavender. She perfected this loaf, featured in the photo at the top of the blog, after four versions. Twitchell says the cake has gotten two thumbs up from “very discriminating taste testers.” We’re not surprised. “I’ve created something that has the indulgence of a holiday sweet loaf but with a healthier twist,” she adds. (Click here to see the recipe.)

Olive Oil Walnut Brownies Deeba Rajpal, the creative force behind the gorgeous blog Passionate About Baking, whipped up these brownies after sampling them at a New Delhi hotel. She asked the chef for the recipe and promptly went home to bake them herself, making some changes and overcoming a power outage that knocked her oven out of commission temporarily. “The texture was fabulous,” she writes. “BIG HIT with the kids too.” (Click here to see the recipe for olive oil walnut brownies.)

Bon appétit,Your friends at California Olive Ranch