Most of us are used to dragging a chunk of crusty bread through an herb-infused olive oil or drizzling a flavorful olive oil vinaigrette across a dazzling salad.

But few cooks think about baking with olive oil.

In favorite baking recipes, extra light olive oil provides an alternative to butter, margarine, or vegetable oil. Note that extra light olive oil has no aroma or flavor of olive oil, but does have the health benefits. (The oil is labeled light olive oil in overseas markets.)

This makes it an excellent choice for all types of cooking, especially baking. Extra light olive oil has the same amount of calories and the same nutrient content as other olive oils.

“For anyone who loves desserts but has issues with cholesterol, this is a great ingredient to use,” says Pam Anderson, cookbook author and food columnist for USA Weekend.

Last summer, The Blade tested S'more Bars made with graham crackers, unsweetened chocolate, extra light olive oil, condensed milk, and miniature marshmallows, a recipe developed by Mrs. Anderson for the North American Olive Oil Association. The olive oil blended right into the delicious flavor.

“We use olive oil because it's healthy,” she says. “Whenever possible, use ingredients that are healthy. In baking, I would use extra light olive oil in desserts where the flavor of butter isn't crucial. I felt that S'more Bars was one of those recipes because there are so many other flavors going on - the chocolate, the graham crackers, and the marshmallows.”

The other two types, olive oil and extra virgin olive oil, lend flavor and aroma to a salad that you wouldn't want to come through in a baked good.

“Extra light olive oil has no aroma and therefore gives baked products no aroma,” says Bernice Neumann, spokeswoman for the North American Olive Oil Association. “It has a light flavor and therefore it is a good choice for baking.” The only difference in the oils is that the flavor is removed in extra light olive oil.

Another advantage of using extra light olive oil in place of butter or margarine in baking is that cakes and muffins made with olive oil stay fresher longer because olive oil's antioxidants help prevent spoilage, according to the olive oil association.

Chocolate Torta is a rich chocolate cake made with extra light olive oil. Even Baked Apples with Sugar and Crumb Topping is drizzled with extra light olive oil.

Other recipes can be adapted to use extra light olive oil. “A lot of people have taken my brownie recipe from The Perfect Recipe (Houghton Mifflin, $27) and used extra light olive oil in place of butter because it gives moistness,” says Mrs. Anderson. “There's such a fudgy flavor that you don't miss the butter.”

“Most box cake mixes use oil, anyway. If you don't rely on a buttery flavor [for the cake], use extra light olive oil.”

Flavors such as carrot cake, spice cake, and nut cake lend themselves to extra light olive oil. “In pound cake, where you need the butter, you should stick with butter,” she says.

Many recipes can be converted to use extra light olive oil in place of butter or margarine. However, use less extra light olive oil than butter or margarine. “Oil is pure fat. Butter is fat with milk solids, and moisture, which accounts for the different volume used in recipes,” says Mrs. Anderson.

For example, 1 teaspoon of butter can be substituted with 3/4 teaspoon extra light olive oil or any kind of oil.

Healthwise, olive oil contains more monounsaturated fat (77 percent), or “good” fat, per tablespoon than butter, margarine, and all other cooking or salad oils. Monounsaturated fat, when used to replace saturated fat in the diet, helps to reduce the level of LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol while maintaining the HDL, or “good,” cholesterol.

However, the saturated fat in olive oil (14 percent) is very similar to many other oils except butter (66 percent).

Note that the calories and fat will be the same in a recipe whether you use extra light olive oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, or butter.

“You can even baste a bread with olive oil instead of butter,” says Ms. Neumann.

Some breads are made with olive oil, such as Fig-Walnut Bread from Good Housekeeping Light and Healthy Cookbook (Hearst Books/Sterling, $24.95). Focaccia, pizza, fougasse (branch-shaped bread from Provence), pita bread, and ciabatta bread are all made with olive oil.

The Italians have been making olive oil cakes for centuries, according to Emily Luchetti in A Passion for Desserts (Chronicle, $35).

However, in regions of Italy that grow olives, you are more likely to see olive oil in baking such as “Tuscany, Umbria, parts of Sicily, and other regions in the south,” says Lynne Rossetto Kasper, author of The Splendid Table (Morrow, $35) and radio talk show host of Minnesota Public Radio's The Splendid Table.

“Butter might be used in baking because it was a luxury item,” Ms. Kasper says. “Whether you use olive oil in baking depends on the region of Italy and the traditions. People with money used butter. Those without [usually] used olive oil or lard.”

Mrs. Anderson encourages experimentation when adapting your baking recipes to use extra light olive oil. “You'll have a fine and wonderful cake if you use [extra light] olive oil,” she says. “You can also use half butter and half extra light olive oil. You will have to do a little conversion.” (See Conversion Chart. For example, to use half butter/ half extra light olive oil, one cup of butter equals 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil.)

You could call this a new dimension in healthy baking.

For more stories on food, see www.toledoblade.com/food

First Published October 7, 2003, 11:36 a.m.