Either by hand, or with an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large
bowl until light and billowy. Add the sugar, and stir until it is
incorporated, then drizzle with the olive oil and stir until
combined. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour by hand just until
the dough is smooth. Add the olives and salt and stir just until they
are evenly distributed throughout the dough. You'll end up with a
sticky dough.
Place the dough in the middle of a large piece of parchment paper.
Cover it with a second piece of parchment paper and roll out the
dough until it is 1/4" thick. Because the dough is sticky, you need
to use this method, plus it is quite convenient. Refrigerate the
dough for at least 45 minutes, or overnight.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F /
180°C, with racks in the top and bottom third. Line 2 baking sheets
with parchment paper and set aside while you stamp out cookies using
whatever size of sharp edged cookie cutter you like. Sharp edges help
cut through the olives. Bake until the edges of the cookies are
golden, rotating the pans from top to bottom, front to back once
after about 8 minutes. Bake for about 12 minutes total for tiny
cookies, and a bit longer for larger cookies. Just keep a close eye
on them, and the edges will tell you when they are done baking.
Adapted from a Scourtins aux Olives de Nyons recipe shared by Susan
Herrmann Loomis.
This was a family recipe originally shared with her by Jean-Pierre
Autrand of Les Vieux in Nyons, Provence.
