Orange Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

These orange olive oil chocolate chip cookies are a one bowl and gluten free recipe that are bound to impress a crowd. They have crisp edges, gooey centers and pools of melted chocolate.

Orange and chocolate is one of those sometimes controversial food pairings, but I kind of love it so here we are with a chewy orange olive oil chocolate chip cookies. The three flavors of orange, olive oil and chocolate pair so well together in my opinion.

Butter is usually one of my favorite part of a cookie (a buttery, sugary flavor is just 10/10), but honestly, you don’t miss the butter in these! And if you aren’t into the orange and chocolate thing, you can leave the orange zest and just make olive oil chocolate chip cookies – still so delicious! If you love this recipe, try my gluten free browned butter chocolate chip cookies or strawberry chocolate chip cookies next!

Tips before we bake!

• Don’t skip the step of chilling the dough! The cookies will spread much too soon if we don’t give the flour a chance to absorb the wet ingredients a bit.
• You will of course taste the olive oil in the cookies so be sure to use something you really like! Extra virgin olive oil has a stronger flavor (that is what I used here) but just virgin olive oil will be slightly more mild. 
• I used two dark chocolate bars that I chopped into chunks, but regular chocolate chips will also work here.

How to make olive oil chocolate chip cookies

In a mixing bowl, add both the brown and white sugar. If you want a more potent orange flavor, add the orange zest now, and massage it into the sugars. You can also do this with my gluten free orange cranberry bread! This will help release the natural oils and deepen the flavor. Otherwise, add it in with the other wet ingredients.

Add in the olive oil and beat with an electric mixer. Add in all remaining wet ingredients and beat to combine.

Mix in the flour (making sure to spoon and level to measure), baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine.

Fold in the chocolate until well combined. Scoop using a roughly 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Place in the fridge to set for 1 hour. Toward the end of the hour, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Divide the dough balls onto two baking sheets with parchment paper – we want enough room for spreading. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are just golden brown.

Use a round cookie cutter to swivel around the edges to create perfect circles. Top with flakey salt and more orange zest if desired. Enjoy and try my gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies or giant funfetti sugar cookie next!

How to store and freeze

Once prepared, these olive oil chocolate chip cookies will keep at room temperature for about 3-4 days. I suggest storing them in an air tight container once they have cooled. I like to reheat in the microwave for a few seconds so the chocolate gets nice and melty and they taste good as new!

To freeze before baking, chill the dough as directed for an hour, then add to a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Bake at 325 Fahrenheit for a couple extra minutes than usual to account for the frozen dough.

To freeze after baking, simply let cool, then transfer to a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven at 300 until warm through the center. Enjoy!

Ingredient swaps

Egg. The egg will help bind all ingredients together, then the added egg yolk will add some extra fat and give the cookies a chewier texture. I don’t recommend any swaps here, the combination of the whole egg and egg yolk is key!

Sugar. You will need a mix of white and brown sugar, which will help create the perfectly crisp edges and chewy centers. You can sub the brown sugar for coconut sugar, but that’s about it as swaps for sugar.

Flour. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour, which I recommend here! If you use a different blend just note that I cannot guarantee the result, but make sure it has xanthan gum in the mix. Almond flour will not work here, but you can add some orange zest to my almond flour chocolate chip cookies instead!

Frequently asked questions

Why did they spread flat?

This is why we chill the dough! Chilling the dough will give the flour a chance to absorb some of the wet ingredients (mostly the oil and egg) and prevent the cookies from spreading too much. If you did chill the dough and you still notice your cookies spreading to much, make sure you aren’t over mixing your dough and check that your oven is at the right temperature.

Why didn’t they spread?

The most common explanation for cookies not spreading is that the flour was measured improperly. You want to make sure you are spooning the flour into your dry measuring cups, then level off the top. Flour can really get packed into the bag, so you want to avoid scooping right from the bag because you will end up with more flour than the recipe really calls for.

What olive oil is best?

Any good quality olive oil is great! Just make sure it’s not infused with garlic or chili or anything like that – just a plain extra virgin olive oil will help produce that rich olive oil flavor we’re looking for.

More cookie recipes you’ll love!

• Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Gluten Free Brownie Cookies
• Gluten Free Marbled Cookies
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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