This week's new recipe are these delicious Vegan Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies. They boast an incredible texture – chewy, fluffy, and crispy around the edges.
They really are the easiest of cookies to put together with the simplest of ingredients, the perfect pantry cookie! Plus, they also happen to be vegan. The hardest part is waiting for the dough to rest before you can bake them.
You might say these cookies lean towards the "healthier" side compared to traditional recipes using butter and regular sugar, offering a fantastic dairy-free alternative.
I personally prefer using a fruity extra virgin olive oil, though a more robustly flavoured option works well too. The marriage of olive oil with dark chocolate and a hint of salt creates an incredible taste.
After experimenting with various sugars, I found that coconut sugar is by far the best. It imparts the perfect malty flavour and chewiness that other sugars, be it regular or brown, couldn't match.
These cookies freeze perfectly as dough balls, ready to be baked whenever you need – even if it's just for one cookie at a time!
Enjoy the recipe and please let me know if you make them @gatherandfeast.
LOVE seeing all your creations! ☺
Ingredients
Vegan, Dairy-Free, Refined Sugar Free 
20 min prep time (plus resting time) + 15 min cook time (plus cooling time) 
16-20 - 200ml extra virgin olive oil (choose a milder, fruity variety)
- 80ml cold water
- 240g coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla paste or extract
- 340g spelt flour OR plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- Sea salt flakes for sprinkling
Method
- In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, coconut sugar, water, and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, sea salt, and dark chocolate, and mix thoroughly to create a consistent dough.
- Place the dough into the refrigerator, allowing it to rest overnight or for a minimum of 3 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Scoop the dough into roughly 2-tablespoon-sized balls and place them onto paper-lined baking trays. Avoid flattening them before baking.
- Bake for 14 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately tap the baking tray on the kitchen countertop to flatten them slightly.
- Allow the cookies to cool and rest for 10 minutes before serving.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container.
NOTES
- Flour Options: You can use either spelt flour or plain flour in this recipe, depending on your preference or dietary needs. Spelt flour may provide a nuttier flavour.
- Olive Oil Selection: Opt for a milder, fruity variety of extra virgin olive oil to ensure a balanced flavour in the cookies.
- Chilling the Dough: Allowing the dough to rest in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of 3 hours is crucial for the texture and flavour development. This step contributes to the cookies' chewiness and enhances the overall taste.
- Baking Temperature: Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F for the best results. If you're using a fan-forced oven, maintain the specified temperature.
- Scooping Dough: When forming the cookie balls, use roughly 2 tablespoons of dough. This size will yield cookies with a nice balance of chewy inside and slightly crisp outside.
- Flattening Technique: After baking, tapping the baking tray on the kitchen counter helps flatten the cookies slightly, creating a desirable texture. Do this step immediately after removing them from the oven.
- Cooling Time: Allow the cookies to cool and rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. This helps them set.
- Freezing: These cookies freeze perfectly as dough balls, ready to be baked whenever you need – even if it's just for one cookie at a time! When you’re ready to bake simply allow the dough to rest on the bench for roughly 15 minutes before baking.
Free Resources
Click on the links below to print or save this recipe to your device.
