Double Chocolate Olive Oil Cookies

These cookies are jam-packed with chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and all the right decadent things for February. Why February? Many of us (including me) back off on indulgence in January to get a healthy, solid start to the new year, which is a good thing! It’s important to allow our internal systems to reset by cutting back on sugar, alcohol, dairy, gluten and other inflammatory foods.

But when February rolls around – if you are like me – you want something cozy, something delicious, something rich. The good news? These cookies are just that and made healthier, too, with olive oil instead of butter, better-for-you-flour and far less sugar than what you’ll find in a classic cookie. Sugar has its place in a cookie, no doubt, but when I eat chocolate, I want to taste chocolate. Not sugar. Here I use a combination of cocoa powder, grated chocolate and chocolate chips to get that extra deep chocolate flavor.

The cocoa powder increases the concentration of good-for-you flavonoids and polyphenols. It also replaces some of the flour, making these cookies more flavorful and tender. Then there’s a hefty serving of semi-sweet or dark chocolate (your preference) – in two different formats. I like to use a little bit of shaved chocolate so that it just melts right into the batter. I like to use chips because what’s not to love about chocolate chips in a cookie? Their pockets of ooey-gooey perfection scattered throughout makes these cookies sing.

Almond butter lends a nuttiness that works wonderfully with either whole wheat flour OR almond flour – I tested both and each version came out beautifully. The true key to this recipe is letting it rest. Olive oil, unlike butter, is liquid at room temperature, so the batter needs time in the refrigerator to solidify the oil and the grated chocolate, which keeps the cookies from spreading too fast and getting too thin while baking. Added bonus: The overnight rest allows the flavors to meld and intensify.

As for the flake salt? Salt is known to intensify our taste buds’ ability to taste the sweetness in foods. It also makes the experience of eating these double chocolate cookies feel wonderfully unpredictable and different, which adds extra excitement.

Double Chocolate Olive Oil Cookies

Makes 16 cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond butter
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup whole wheat flour (sub almond flour for gluten free)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup grated bittersweet or dark chocolate (60% cacao or greater)
• Coarse or flake salt, for sprinkling

Directions

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together olive oil, almond butter, and both sugars on high speed 2-3 minutes. Add egg. Beat an additional 30 seconds or until batter is frothy.

Sift together cocoa powder, flour and salt. Stir in flaxseed.

Add 1/3 of flour mixture to oil mixture, beat 15 seconds. Repeat with remaining flour mixture, beating 15 seconds after each addition.  Gently stir in chocolate chips and grated chocolate.

Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Batter will be very wet. Cover dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line baking pans with parchment paper. Scoop or roll dough into 1 ½-inch balls (about the size of a golf ball).  Place on lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle generously with flake salt. Bake 13-15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Sidney Fry is a two-time James-Beard-Award-winning food and nutrition writer who loves creating simple, healthy recipes and thoughtful, actionable content for the hungry consumer. A healthy living proactivist, Sidney is also a registered dietitian nutritionist, recipe developer and mama of three based in Birmingham, Alabama.