Buttermilk Olive Oil Cookies

Gluten-free 

I don’t know why but for some reason I have lost my sweet tooth a bit. I had to spend a week in the hospital and for 4 of those days I was not allowed to eat. While the hospital was horrible, it was worse not being able to eat. When I finally could again, I went right for a cookie (becuase why not) and after my first bite, I was done. This was a first for me. Now I have been home for a week, back in the kitchen and wanting to bake, but with a little bit more of the savory-edge to things. 

That’s where these cookies came from. 

Better with Butter(milk)

My buttermilk jag continues. I don’t know if it was fate, but I bought buttermilk on a whim (as you do) and then I saw Grant Melton’s recipe on Food52 for buttermilk chocolate chip cookies. I think that they universe wanted me to try to make buttermilk cookies. 

Let me just say that Grant Melton is a genius baker. I love all of his recipes. This recipe is kinda a weird hybrid of his recipe and Ovenly’s infamous (rightly so) Vegan Salted Chocolate Chip cookies. Both are amazing recipes and I kinda just mashed them together in an early morning baking session. The resulting cookie was sweet, slightly savory, cakey on the edges and chewy in the middle. You taste the fruitiness of the olive oil along with the caramel-like flavor of the coconut sugar. I don’t know if there is a perfect cookie, but this might be pretty close. 

Where are the chips? 

Since my sweet tooth has been on hiatus, I have been pulling back on my chocolate intake (hopefully this will change because I miss it). When I was making these, I did not add chocolate chips to them and I am not mad about it. These cookies are great without the chocolate. 

If you want some chocolate, then add some. I recommend a dark chocolate to keep the sweetness low. Not to mention I think dark chocolate goes so well with olive oil. If you are hankering for a crunch, add some chopped cashews. Their butteriness is perfect in this cookie. 

Don’t skimp on the vanilla

There is a lot of vanilla in this recipe. Two whole teaspoons. That is twice what I use in my normal cookie recipe, but that extra teaspoon really adds to the depth of flavor. I use either homemade vanilla extract or Nielsen Massey Tahitian Vanilla extract; both of these options give you the best vanilla flavor that is both natural (not imitation) and gluten-free. 

You can also buy a whole vanilla bean, split it in half and scrape the seeds into the dough. That will definitely give you some serious vanilla flavor. Another great flavor option is adding 1/2 teaspoon almond extract with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. 

---

Recipe

11/2 cup gluten-free flour 

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt 

1/2 cup olive oil 

1/4 cup buttermilk 

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 cup coconut sugar 

1 large egg 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

Optional Mix-in’s

1 cup chopped dark chocolate 

1 cup finely chopped cashews

1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries and 1/3 cup chopped pecans 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract. It will be pretty loose, but that is what we want. 

Fold the dry ingredients into the buttermilk and olive oil mixture. It will be a sticky dough. Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for 2 hours. Do not skip this step. 

After the 2 hours, preheat the oven to 375F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2tbsp cookie scoop, scoop dough onto the baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each mound of dough. 

Bake for 12-14 minutes, just until the edges turn golden brown. It is better to under bake these than over bake them. 

Let cool completely before transferring to a plate. Or your mouth. These babies are super soft and perfect with a glass of cold milk. Store at room temperature for a week or freeze in a ziplock  bag for up to 3 weeks.