Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cookies
The first time I had these salted dark chocolate olive oil cookies was at Levee Baking Co. here in New Orleans. Christina is a friend and has always inspired me. Her bakery has some of the absolute best breads and pastries here in the Big Easy. Funny enough, I actually didn’t get into making my own sourdough until she came over one day and brought me some of her starter. It was then that my life changed forever because she taught me a basic sourdough bread recipe. Since then, I have been making sourdough 2-3 times a month and I absolutely love it. But that’s not why we are here today. We’re here to talk about a cookie. A salted dark chocolate olive oil cookie to be exact. Drooling yet?
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THESE COOKIES
Going back to when I first had this cookie, upon my first bite my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I squealed. My mouth was overwhelmed with a crispy, chewy texture that was rich and oh so chocolatey. Large chunks of flaky salt melted onto my tongue, intensifying the flavor. It was decided at the moment to be my favorite cookie ever. And it still is.
KEY INGREDIENTS
Luckily, Christina agreed to let me share her recipe on the blog for all of you! I did make just a few tweaks because you know I can be fussy if I don’t have my way, but the recipe is very similar to the one she currently serves at the bakery. I added some coffee because Ina Garten taught me that trick when I was a teenager (it brings out the flavor of the chocolate in a big way.) Also added just a dash of almond extract because I just can’t help myself. You don’t really taste it but it’s definitely there.
A FEW MORE TIPS
What else… oh yeah, I like to make mine on the bigger, thinner, crispier, and chewier side. So I like to divide the dough into 12 big cookies and bake for 16 minutes. Of course, you could go smaller but I think these work really well when they are big and impressive. I also decided to omit the chocolate chips but I have made that an option in the notes. This just depends on how much you like chocolate! Lastly, don’t skimp on the flaky salt. It’s what makes the cookies.
Big thanks to Christina from Levee Baking Co. for letting me share this chocolate olive oil cookie recipe. Definitely give her a follow on Instagram, her feed is gorgeous.
WANT TO TRY OTHER SEASONAL TREATS?
ENJOY THESE SALTED DARK CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL COOKIES!
If you do make the recipe, let me know, and please leave a comment below. It greatly helps the health of my site and makes me oh so happy to read. If you post this on social media please tag me, I love to see what you all are up to! Thank you for being here and happy baking, y’all.
-Timothy
Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, regular or golden
- ¼ cup full-fat oat milk
- 2 tablespoons black coffee, left-over or cold-brewed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 280 g
- ¾ cup cocoa powder, dutch-processed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 2 cups sugar, vanilla infused if you have it!
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- Flaky salt, for topping cookies
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flaxseed meal, oat milk, and coffee. Mix well and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. (When measuring the flour, fluff it up with a fork and then scoop it into a measuring cup using a spoon. It needs to be 280 g and no more than that or the dough will be too crumbly!) Set aside.
- Now that the flax mixture is ready, in the same bowl, add in the olive oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients, a few scoops at a time. Do not overmix.
- Once the mixture is combined, mound into a ball and shape into a rounded rectangle. The dough should be cohesive and shiny. You should easily be able to form it into a ball at this point. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or up to 3-4 days).
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line one large baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough and cut into 12 even squares. Using your hands, round individual squares into thick circular discs.
- Place the discs on the baking sheet and gently press down with your fingers. (Refer to the image above to see how!) These cookies will spread and need a good amount of space so only bake off 6 at a time, in batches. Once flattened, generously sprinkle some flaky salt on top.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 16 minutes for a crispy, chewy texture. If you want them a little more gooey, try 14 or 15 minutes. You can also opt to not flatten them as much as I do for an even more gooey interior.
- Let the cookies sit on the pan for about 2 minutes. Then, using a very thin spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling wrack. Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!
So. Made the dough. Let it sit in the fridge overnight. Took it out and tried to make the lovely, little round cookies like in the picture and the dough completely crumbled and fell apart. So instead I baked slab cookies. While not very pretty, they taste quite nice. I wish I could share a picture with you of my not very pretty cookies. Happy Christmas!
Hi there! I am so sorry you had issues. If you have any dough left, I would place it in a bowl and add en extra drizzle of olive oil and another splash or two of oat milk. Mix until it is not so crumbly. I am very concerned about this and will be testing the recipe again in the next few days to see if I can troubleshoot. I will update you.
Hi there! I wanted to report back. I tested this recipe again and the dough was cohesive and pliable. It does harden in the fridge so it can be a bit crumbly with forming them into a ball to bake off but it should still be manageable. I will email you a video of the dough I tested!
Hi, again Lisa! I wanted to report back: I recently re-tested the recipe as written and followed it to a T. I didn’t have any issues with the dough and I recorded a video and emailed it to you to show you what it is supposed to look like. Did you get the email? LMK and hope you are well!
I’ve made these cookies countless of times and love doing different variations with different mix ins. They are so delicious. My family is always asking me to make them. One of my go to cookie recipes 🙂
Well that is just so lovely to hear! Thank you so much for letting me know. I love these cookies, too.
These are fantastic cookies and I have already made two batches this week! I used half the amount of sugar and they still came out sweet and chocolatey. I used all purpose flour for one recipe and almond flour for the second as I ran out of APF. The almond flour made them flat and more chewy, but still amazing. I found this website after reading about the famous Levee cookies in a magazine and I am so happy I found this recipe. The photographs on this website are phenomenal and so inviting. I went down a rabbit whole just looking at all the food photos 🙂
This is so awesome to hear! I am so happy you like them and were able to customize them to your liking. Thank you for leaving a sweet comment. I really appreciate it!
Not gonna lie, I was a bit skeptical at first but after reading all those amazing reviews I knew I HAD to try them. Someone in the comments recommended to use less sugar if we preferred less sweet desserts so I halved the amount bc I prefer the taste of chocolate without a lot of sweetness (I’m a savory kind of gal lol) and I definitely don’t regret my decision. I added some 90 % dark chocolate chips and omg. Those are literally the best cookies I’ve ever had. I’m munching on cookie #3 as I’m typing this ?
This is so lovely to hear! I am thrilled that you like them. Thanks for the comment.
Soooooo good! Thank you so much! This cookie is not only GORGEOUS, it is so yummy! I used brown sugar and flax seed oil instead of olive b/c that’s all I had on hand but still, so good!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for the love.
Wow, I just made these and they are the BOMB! Thanks for all of your great recipes! I also love your Insta posts 🙂
That’s awesome to hear!! I am so happy you like them. Thank you for the love!
oh my god, these are divine! I left the dough in the fridge and baked them on the fourth day and they turned out just perfect! Maybe a tiny bit too crunchy, but that’s my oven. And totally negligible with that taste. I might also try using peanut butter one of the next times I make them, because somehow peanuts seem a perfect match with the dark choc and salty taste. NOM! Thank you SO much for sharing this recipe! <3
Yay! I am so glad you liked these! Thanks for the comment and happy baking!
Holy frackin sheet, dude! I just came here to say THANK YOU! These cookies are insane. I made a double batch to bring to my in-laws and my friends who just had a baby. Everyone (and I do mean everyone) was obsessed. My brother-in-law even stole 2 to bring to his Tinder date (and he told her that he baked them, because he’s just that kind of guy).
These are flawless – Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. So flavorful. So balanced. I made them exactly as written, except I somehow missed the part where you mentioned almond extract – Woops! I’ll add it next time. And trust me – there will be a “next time” real soon. Husband already asked me to bake another batch for his coworkers.
If you’re reading through reviews trying to decide whether or not these are worth making, just do it. Seriously. You’re gonna fall in love.
Yay!!! Thank you for making me laugh. I needed this today! I am so thrilled you liked the recipe and I love that you shared them. Happy baking!
These are great! I’ve made them twice. The second time the batter turned out a bit more dry…not sure why but they were still great once baked (just difficult to shape). I always make these when I have some non-vegan guests to please. I get pretty nervous when i have to bake for several people, but these cookies never disappoint!! Thanks for the great recipe.
These are def the perfect cookies to make for guests. What a treat! Thanks for the love and happy cooking.
I am back to say that I made these again with 1/2 tsp peppermint extract and crushed peppermint AND chocolate chips inside and I think this is it. This is Nirvana. My life is different now. I hope you all can join me on the peppermint side. It’s good over here.
Ohhhh!! That sounds like a fabulous idea. Will try!
Oh my god. WHAT?! These are bomb. I followed the recipe except swapped macadamia nut milk since that’s what I had and omitted almond extract bc hubs is allergic. They are absolutely perfect. I’m kinda scared that I know about them though bc they are so good I don’t know if I’ll ever stop making them. Bye bye self control! Thanks for the recipe, I guess ?
Haha! I guess there could be worse problems to have? Thanks for the love and happy cooking!
I’m so mad at you for posting this recipe. You posted this on December 22. Since then we have made (and consumed) 3 batches. It is only January 4 and there are only two people in my house — that’s way too many cookies! Basically, you have ruined my life.
Just kidding — these are the best cookies I’ve ever baked at home and I’m in love.
Haha! You are not the first person to feel this way. I am so glad you like them. Happy cooking!
Hey!
Can’t wait to make these cookies, I’ve been dreaming about them! I have three bags of cacao on hand, but no dutch process cocoa… how important do you thing the dutch process is in this cookie?
Loving so many of your recipes, thanks for being here!
~Shawn
You can use regular cocoa powder! It shouldn’t change things too much. Happy cooking!
I’m sorry to say these cookies were bad. Somehow, even with all of the sugar, vanilla, almond, coffee, and salt, they had very little flavor. Also, mine flattened so much that they looked awful, too.
That’s so odd… I’ve had over a dozen people on Instagram send me pics (where the cookies look great) telling me how perfect they are and how much they love the flavor. I’ve also had a good handful of comments on the blog saying how great they are, as well. Hard to imagine that with all of these flavors and a hefty sprinkling of salt on top that flavor is the issue. Can’t help but wonder if something went wrong… But oh well! Looks like these cookies just aren’t for you.
Wowzers! These are amazing! Perfect cookie. (I went for crispy/chewy).
I am so happy that you like them! Thank you for the love!
I made these last night as dessert for our New Years Eve dinner. Chocolate decadence! I added chocolate chips, so they were extra chocolatey. On the first batch I baked, I put the sea salt. Later in the evening, I baked up the 2nd batch and had leftover chopped peanuts (from the shitake lettuce wraps) so used those as a topping. I can’t decide which I like more, so maybe the solution is to load them up with both! My oven must run hotter than yours, because they were ready to come out after around 13 -14 minutes. They were crispy on the edges, chewy in the middle. Perfection!!
Yay! I am so glad you liked them and we’re able to put your own spin on them. Happy cooking and thanks for the love!
I made these at the holidays for my family. We cut them into snowflake shapes. I followed the recipe exactly and they were the best cookies we’ve all ever had! They’re like a brownie almost but better. The Maldon sea salt was wonderful on top! Excellent
Amazing! Love that! Thank you for the sweet comment.
Huge hit with my vegan fam!
these are the PERFECT COOKIE. I made mine with only 1 & 1/2 cup of sugar and subbed half the flour with almond flour. It worked so well. You could really even take the sugar down to 1 & 1/4 if you prefer less sweet desserts. I also topped with crushed peppermint- big christmas hit in my household.
Cool! I wonder what they taste like compared to the original? I’ll have to try this!
So many people comment on food blogs saying “This looks delicious!” or “I can’t wait to make these!” Let me tell you, I legit could not wait. I LOVE these cookies from Levee, so when they shared your post on Instagram, I braved the holiday grocery stores for ingredients. These are perfect! I subbed unsweetened almond milk for oat, and I also added a few dark chocolate chips, but otherwise I did everything as written. I definitely second your suggestion to slightly under-bake them to keep them gooey/chewy. My first batch I did a full 16 minutes in the oven. They were crispy and chewy fresh out of the oven, but they dried out a little when they cooled. Throwing them in a sealed container helped soften them back up to a perfectly chewy texture.
Yay!!! I’m so glad you like them!
I’ve been following you for a while on IG. I finally found the courage to leave a comment. Just wanted to say thank you for you contribution to the culture. Your content inspires and makes me think that one day, I can go all out plant based too! Keep up the excellent work!
You are so sweet. Thank you so much!