Soft chocolate chip cookies made with whole grain flour, olive oil, chopped bittersweet chocolate, fresh rosemary, and generous pinches of flaky sea salt. They’re a little bit savory, a little bit sweet, a little bit salty, a little bit earthy, and a whole heck of a lot delicious.
LET’S MAKE SOFT, CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES.
Except, let’s make them fancy chocolate chunk cookies.
How does one turn cookies into fancy cookies?
It’s simple, really.
First, we’re going to use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. Then, we’re increasing the salt and decreasing the sugar, to tip these cookies solidly in the direction of fancy. Next, chocolate chips get swapped out for the darkest bar of chocolate you’ve got lying around. 80% or higher would be ideal. Finally, we’re using a whole grain flour like spelt or whole wheat, and baking them until they’re juuuust cooked through and still nice and soft in the middle.
OH. WAIT.
AND WE’RE ADDING ROSEMARY TO THE COOKIE DOUGH.
Yes, that rosemary. The woodsy herb growing out on your balcony that you probably use to flavor roasted potatoes or chicken is headed straight for dessert.
I know it isn’t a typical addition to your classic chocolate chip cookies, but hear me out:
People put all sorts of things into cookies, like vanilla and bourbon and peanut butter and chopped nuts and pretzels and potato chips and coffee and toffee and zucchini and lemon… and if those things are perfectly acceptable, I think we should make a little bit of room for rosemary in our cookies, too.
When paired with the grassy, spicy, earthy flavor of extra virgin olive oil and the dark, rich, bold flavor of bittersweet chocolate, rosemary just fits into these cookies. So much so, that I made a batch without the rosemary in it (for Kevin to sample because he is willing to try just about everything I make, but, apparently, draws the line at rosemary in his cookies thankyouverymuch) and they weren’t nearly as enjoyable. The rosemary isn’t overpowering in these cookies, but it’s definitely the star of the show.
Just trust me on this one.
It’s the only sure way to hitch a ride to fancy cookie town, and you really, really, don’t want to miss out.
Like, I ate five of them yesterday and two of them for breakfast today while I was deciding what I wanted for breakfast and, yeah, my rosemary plant is pretty overgrown so I guess I need to bake another batch tonight and you probably do too. They’re just that good.
If you make these jazzed up little whole grain cookies, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, or take a picture of your cookies and share it with me on Instagram so I can see!
Salted Rosemary Olive Oil Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Time: 20 minutes
Yields: 12 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (from 2-3 large sprigs)
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat or whole grain spelt flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3oz bar of dark chocolate, roughly chopped (ideally 70-85%, but use what you love!)
- Flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the oil, sugar, and egg. Add all remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.
- Use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough into 12 balls, then bake for 7-9 minutes, or until just cooked through in the middle and firm around the edges. These cookies will get cakey and dry if overbaked, but are soft and wonderful if not, so keep an eye on them!
- Once finished baking, sprinkle each with a pinch of flaky sea salt, if using, then allow cookies to cool a few minutes on the pan before eating, or cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
MAKE THEM VEGAN: I haven’t tried this recipe with a vegan egg substitute, but I think it would work well with an unflavored swap like ener-g egg replacer or aquafaba. A flax or chia egg might overpower the delicate flavors of rosemary and olive oil.
MAKE THEM GLUTEN-FREE: just use your favorite gluten-free baking blend in place of the whole wheat flour! I’ve tried these with almond flour, which works, but yields a thinner, more delicate cookie. Still good, but not quite as good as using a grain-based flour.