Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

This isn’t just any chocolate chip cookie recipe, these are Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies! Olive oil takes the place of butter and gives these cookies a delicious crust and chewy middles. Olive oil, chocolate chips and flaky sea salt….these cookies are an easy, gourmet version of a classic!

BAKING WITH OLIVE OIL

As someone who loves making mostly Mediterranean style cooking, I use mostly olive oil when I cook. For baking, I almost always use butter. That said, olive oil is fun and delicious to bake with too!

I have been excited to bake with olive oil again ever since I made this Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake last year. The olive oil adds a slightly fruity taste and made the cake so moist!

OLIVE OIL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Today I did an Instagram survey asking what people thought about olive oil in place of butter in cookies. The results were mixed! I get that it sounds different, but different in this case is GOOD!

OLIVE OIL GIVES THESE COOKIES:

• The Richness of Butter: Yes you’re omitting the butter from the recipe, but olive oil takes its place.
• The Perfect Crust: Olive oil gives these cookies a nice crispy exterior. It’s possibly the best cookie crust I’ve ever tasted!
• Chewy, Moist Centers: Instead of being completely crunchy or completely soft, these cookies have a thick crust and soft, moist middles.
• A Delicious Taste: I wouldn’t say they taste like olive oil, but the olive oil does add a subtle, delicious flavor.

SAME CLASSIC CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE TASTE

Classic chocolate chip cookies are already perfection, so I get that people would be hesitant to change the recipe. Don’t hesitate though! Olive oil takes the place of butter here, but they are every bit as authentic and delicious tasting as “regular” chocolate chip cookies!

This is my first recipe for chocolate chip cookies with olive oil, but not my first time incorporating interesting flavors in my cookies. The addition of sour cream in my Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies makes these super soft and delicious! Also, since you’re interested in olive oil, you’ll love these flavorful Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies!

WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED FOR THIS OLIVE OIL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE?

• Olive Oil: I use extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil takes the place of butter which makes these cookies dairy free.
• Granulated Sugar
• Brown Sugar: Brown sugar helps give these cookies their chewy texture. Both light or dark work. I prefer dark brown sugar because it adds slightly more molasses flavor.
• 1 Egg
• 1 Egg Yolk: The egg yolk adds even more richness to these cookies.
• Vanilla Extract: For flavor.
• All Purpose Flour
• Almond Flour : Almond flour adds to the delicious texture and flavor of these cookies. If you do not have almond flour, you can simply use all purpose flour.
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Salt: Balances out the sweetness and intensifies the chocolate flavor.
• Chocolate chips: Use semi-sweet or dark.
• Flaky Sea Salt: Sprinkle the cookies with a pinch of sea salt as soon as they come out of the oven. Adding the salt while the cookies are still warm will help ensure the salt will stick. That sprinkle of sea salt intensifies the richness and brings out the flavors of these cookies!

WHAT KIND OF CHOCOLATE SHOULD I USE?

As mentioned above, I like either semi-sweet or dark chocolate for these cookies. I haven’t made them with bittersweet, but I think it’d be nice too.

You could use just one type, or a combination of the three. You can also use milk chocolate, but if you do, I’d suggest using it in combination with another type of chocolate. This will help balance out the sweetness of milk chocolate.

CHOCOLATE CHIPS OR CHOPPED CHOCOLATE?

It’s your call! You can use:

• CHOCOLATE CHIPS
• CHOCOLATE CHUNKS
• CHOPPED CHOCOLATE

The type of chocolate you use mostly depends on how you want the cookies to look. Chips give you the most classic look. For something a little different, try chocolate chunks.

If you want more melty pools of chocolate, then chopped chocolate would be your best bet. I really like Lindt bars for my cookies. I usually look for chocolate bars that are between 55% and 77% dark. (More often than not, I steal a chocolate bar from my husband’s dark chocolate bar stash!)

Reserve a little of the chopped chocolate and stick it in the top of the dough balls before putting them in the oven. This will ensure you can see the chocolate on top once baked. You can even drop some chopped chocolate on top of the cookies as soon as you take them out of the oven. The heat from the cookies will melt the chocolate.

HOW TO BAKE OLIVE OIL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

You can make these average sized or giant. I prefer to make mine GIANT! Why? Basically because they’re so good I know I’d end up having two. The giant size just looks cool, appetizing and satisfies everyone’s cookie craving!

COOKIE DOUGH BALLS FROM AN ICE CREAM SCOOP

To make them giant, I use a 2 ounce ice cream scoop. The ice cream scoop is great because it measures and shapes the balls. You end up with cookies that are the same size and shape.

Simply scoop the balls directly onto your parchment paper lined baking sheet. No need to roll them into balls. Alternatively, if you don’t have an ice cream scoop, you can fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup with dough and roll it into balls.

BAKING TIME ACCORDING TO SIZE

Baking times will vary depending on the size of your cookies. For giant cookies, bake them for 13-15 minutes. 13 minutes will give you gooier cookies and 15 will give you more well done cookies. Just be sure not to over bake them!

For medium-sized cookies, start checking them at 10 minutes. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

All chocolate chip cookie fans will love these Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies! These cookies are rich in flavor and have crispy edges and chewy centers. They are perfectly chocolatey and a pinch of flaky sea salt intensifies all the flavor!

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