Vegan Spanish Christmas Cookies (Olive Oil Nevaditos)
Nevaditos are, without a doubt, my favorite Spanish Christmas treat; they are a must on Christmas tables and in Christmas baskets. Today, I bring you a recipe for Vegan Nevaditos, Christmas cookies baked with extra virgin olive oil and lots of chocolate—undoubtedly a combination that will brighten up your festive table.
Nevaditos are the ultimate Christmas temptation in Spain. I still remember a December when I had to resist the temptation of the Christmas basket raffled at work (and obviously, I didn’t win it). Every afternoon, I would glance at the Chocolate Nevaditos in the basket thinking, “If I take them, no one will notice.” In the end, I didn’t steal them, but of course, I had to go to the supermarket to buy a box—or two!—while searching for my favorite Nevaditos recipes.
To bake these Nevaditos, I was inspired by the recipe of a photographer I love, María Montero Foto, who, in turn, admits to being inspired by a recipe from Directo al Paladar’s Christmas collection last year. Since then, I’ve been happy to bake this perfect Vegan Christmas Cookies, and I can tell you that they did not disappoint any guest.
Vegan and Chocolatey Christmas cookie
When you check the list of ingredients for Nevaditos, you might think I made a mistake, but no: this recipe doesn’t include sugar in the dough. The reason is that traditional Nevaditos, when baked without chocolate, are coated in powdered sugar after baking, which makes them sweet enough even without sugar in the dough.
In this recipe, dipped in 70% chocolate, I’m not going to lie: the result is not too sweet, you can coated them in sugar, or in chocolate after baking.
I love them this way because I am very fond of bitter chocolate, but you can use your favorite milk chocolate for dipping if you prefer a sweeter taste.
The texture of olive oil Nevaditos is not exactly the same as those made with lard (mantecados) they are crunchier, tender, aromatic, and moist.
Vegan Nevaditos have nothing to envy about the original lard recipe, and they will definitely be part of my Christmas recipe collection.
weet Wine: The Essential Ingredient in Traditional Spanish Christmas Sweets
This recipe is the easy Christmas cookie recipe we all need. It always turns out perfect! Its only challenge—or at least for me, as I am no wine expert—has been finding sweet wine in the supermarket
In the end, after visiting three or four supermarkets, I found a sweet wine that worked perfectly in the olive oil Nevaditos recipe and since that day there is a bottle in my pantry for Christmas recipes.
I’ll leave you a link to a sweet wine in case it helps, but most wine labels in stores indicate whether it is red, rosé, sweet, or semi-sweet. If you find one with the word “sweet” on the label… it’s time to bake Nevaditos or Roscos de Vino and serve them with turron to feel that you are enjoying the best of Spanish Christmas gastronomy.
How to Substitute Spanish Sweet Wine?
You can use a sweet, aromatic alcoholic beverage such as Pedro Ximénez, Moscatel, or Port wine.
If you prefer to bake these cookies without alcohol, you can use grape juice or grape must. Reduce it over heat for a few minutes with some dates, cloves, and orange peel to create a sweet, intense, and Christmas-scented syrup.
How to Bake Nevaditos
You’ll only need a round cookie cutter and an oven. I used a standard cutter, about 2 cm thick, and the Nevaditos filled ¾ of the cutter’s height. Remember that they must be high enough to be tender in the inside.
I know there are special professional cutters for this type of Christmas cookies (mantecados), but the round cookie cutter you usually use will work perfectly if the cookie dought is thick enough.
Be generous with the dough and don’t roll it out too thin. Nevaditos must be very moist inside, so avoid baking them too thin, or they will lose their juiciness and tenderness.
Quantities in this recipe are pretty generous. You’ll get at least two trays of cookies, which is enough to serve 6–8 people. But, as you know, Christmas recipes usually require larger quantities because of family and/or friends’ gatherings.
If you’re looking at the quantities of other recipes on my blog and plan to bake for 2–4 people, I recommend halving the ingredients.
Vegan Spanish Christmas Cookies (Olive Oil Nevaditos)
Equipment
- Oven
- Cookie cutter
Ingredients
Masa
- 500 g Pastry flour
- 250 ml Extra virgin olive oil
- 50 ml Aniseed liqueur
- 50 ml Sweet wine
- Lemon and orange zest
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Cobertura de chocolate
- 400 g 70% dark chocolate couverture
- 1 o 2 cucharadas Coconut oil Opcional
Instructions
- Start by mixing all the dry ingredients in a bowl: the flour, a pinch of salt, cinnamon, and orange and lemon zest.
- Add 125 ml of olive oil, 25 ml of aniseed liqueur, and 125 ml of sweet wine, and mix until you get a crumbly dough.
- Gather the dough with your hands and wrap it in plastic wrap. You can and form a thick sheet of dough (about 2–3 cm thick) using a rolling pin.
- Let the vegan Christmas cookie dough rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
- Once the dough is sufficiently chilled, roll it out slightly on a floured surface until it is 1.5–2 cm thick. Cut out Nevaditos with a round cookie cutter.
- Place the Nevaditos on a baking sheet.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF) with heat from above and below.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes until golden brown.
- Let the Nevaditos cool completely before handling them to avoid breaking.
- Coat the Nevaditos in powdered sugar or prepare the chocolate coating.
For the Chocolate Coating:
- Place a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water and melt the chocolate with 1–2 tablespoons of coconut oil (optional, for a creamier coating).
- Dip each Nevadito in the chocolate using two forks.
- Place the Nevaditos on parchment paper and let the chocolate set for at least an hour before enjoying.
