So, essentially, peeps, you are looking at my new favorite chocolate chip cookies and that is saying a lot, as I am pretty darn picky when it comes to chocolate chip cookies (and, FYI, you can see me make them on Instagram, if you’re into that sort of thing . . . watching peeps bake, and all that . . . ). They must be chewy, they must be slightly underdone, they must have crispy edges and they must have soft(ish) middles. They must taste of butterscotch, as well as caramel, and although they obvs need to have lots of chocolate, I like a balance — in other words not too much chocolate, but just enough (if that makes any sense at all . . . ).
This particular recipe is based on my triple threat chocolate chip cookies, and when I set out to develop an olive oil based cookie (in honor of my fab partnership with Colavita), I was reminded of it. Now, the “triple threat” cookies did not call for olive oil, but they did call for three different kinds of chocolate and they did get the kind of kudos of which a recipe developer’s dreams are made. If memory serves, as it so rarely does due to #oldladybrain, I made the triple threats for my younger son’s seventh grade teacher after I forgot about and missed a parent teacher conference (yes, #oldladybrain again) and was desperate to make amends (I’ve always believed that if your kid’s teacher likes you, the parent, then maybe they’ll be extra nice to your kid . . . and, yes, I know that kissing up to my kids’ teachers is kind of lame, but I’m just being honest). Anyway, I made the cookies for the teacher, he shared it with his colleagues and the laudatory emails poured in.
This is a long way of saying that I knew the triple threat was a winner and since I wanted the olive oil based one to be a winner as well, it seemed like a good place to start. So, the cookie calls for a flavorful oil instead of melted butter, and the final product does indeed have a grassy, spicy vibe, but you do not immediately bite into one of these beauties and think OLIVE OIL: it is more subtle than that. They also call for bread flour — as bread flour contributes to a chewier cookie — but if you cannot find bread flour, you may use all-purpose.
In addition these cookies call for more brown sugar than granulated, as brown makes for a more moist cookie with more caramel-y vibes; and two yolks and one whole egg (yolks also contribute moisture). The cookie calls for three different kinds of chocolate and are truly pretty special and — wait for it — are mixed together in two bowls with a whisk and a spatula! That’s it!!! I know, I know: that’s a huge relief and you are so welcome. Now, I do recommend you let the dough rest for up to 3 days before baking the cookies, sorry about that, as this ensures the cookies will have the best chewy texture . . . But if you can’t wait, at least freeze them for an hour pre-bake so they don’t spread too much, k?
Olive Oil Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Olive Oil Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chopped
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chopped
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chopped
- 3/4 cup Colavita Olive Oil Premium Italian
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- Maldon sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, salt and soda together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the chopped chocolate and toss to coat.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the sugars and oil together.
- Add the egg and yolks to the mixing bowl and whisk until fully incorporated and glossy, about 30 seconds. Add the cream and vanilla and whisk again.
- Add the dry ingredients, and with a silicone spatula, mix until just combined.
- Using a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop (or 1/4 cup measuring cup) for large cookies – my personal favorite – or a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop (for smaller ones), place balls of the dough on to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and place the sheet in the refrigerator for 24 to 72 hours (this rest contributes wonderfully to the cookies’ chewy texture; but if you cannot wait, freeze them for at least an hour so they don’t spread too much when baked).
- When ready to bake off the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place 12 balls of dough (if making smaller cookies, less if making larger ones) on a parchment-lined sheet, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and bake for about 12 minutes (I’m also hugely in favor of slightly under baking cookies) rotating at the halfway point. Once removed from the oven, slightly flatten each cookie with a spatula (final thing I’m hugely in favor of: flat-ish thick and chewy cookies, as opposed to puffy ones), let cool briefly and enjoy.