Without a sliver of doubt, I can say that these are the best cookies I have ever eaten. The first time I made this, it was a recipe for olive oil and sea salt brownie cookies from a food blog called Butterlust. I have only ever made them to share, first bringing them to a dinner with friends off campus, when I didn’t let the dough chill long enough and ended up with something more of a Jackson Pollock nature than a sheet of crinkly cookie disks. The next time was for my family when my older brother’s childhood friend tried them and soon after baked them for his own family.
When last I made them, I was preparing for an employee Christmas party at Food.Bar.Food. Working side by side with those talented cooks in the restaurant’s back of house, I knew it was time to make my favorite recipe my own. I was determined to impress them. By the end of the evening, Chef Beau Floyd ate the last cookie on the platter, requesting that I send him the recipe for a potential dessert special.
This recipe is astonishingly easy, and likely the most indulgent thing you’ll eat while you binge Netflix and build your life in Animal Crossing under quarantine this week. These rich brownie cookies are inspired by the Killer Bee, a Common Grounds monthly special by alumna Aubrey Shelly, the original Butterlust recipe, and my own obsession with adding cayenne to everything. The final cookie is coincidentally gluten free and vegan, and utterly addicting.
| Yields: About 25 cookies Prep time: 40 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Ingredients: ½ cup olive oil 1 cup sugar 2 eggs / or 2 tbsp flax seed, 6 tbsp water, whisked until gelatinous ¾ cup flour ¾ cup natural cocoa powder 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp cinnamon ½ tbsp fine ground dark roast coffee ½ tsp sea salt, plus more for sprinkling 1 tsp baking soda 1 tbsp hot water 1 tsp vanilla ½ tbsp honey 2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips |
Instructions:
- In the bowl of a kitchenaid or large bowl, add olive oil and sugar and mix until well combined.
- Add the eggs (or egg substitute), one at a time, mixing well between each one.
- Add cocoa powder, cayenne, coffee, cinnamon, flour, and salt and beat until a dough forms – it should be the consistency of a thick brownie batter.
- In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda into the hot water. Add dissolved baking soda and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add the honey, beat until just combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Refrigerate the batter for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop heaping tablespoons of batter onto your prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are set.
