These are quite possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever made.
I’m not even going to make you try to guess the odd ingredient (mostly because it looks so weird in the pictures that I don’t want your mind going creative places).
Olives. And chocolate. Yes, you read that right.
Does it help if I explain these are meant to be barely sweet and enjoyed with a nice glass of red (and maybe a sharp cheddar)?
I will say that I actually had to drink a couple of glasses of wine before I worked up the courage to bake these babies off.
And you know what? They were delightful. You don’t get olive so much as you get salt. Which is nice with cocoa. If you are looking for something a little unusual to add to a cheese board or maybe a unique addition to the traditional host gift of a bottle of wine, give these a try.
Chocolate Olive Cookies
from Dorie’s Cookies, Dorie Greenspan
makes about 60 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 C (170g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 C (32g) cornstarch
- 1/4 C (21g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 stick (8 TBS, 4 ounces, 113g) unsalted butter, at room temp and cut into chunks)
- 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 C (67g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/3 C (50g) chopped, pitter oil-cured black olives (I used Kalmata because we have a giant Costco jar on hand at all times)
Directions
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch and cocoa powder.
- Working with a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or hand mixer), beat the butter and olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes).
- Add the yolk and beat for 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Turn off mixer, add dry ingredients and pulse to start blending. Mix on low until ingredients are incorporated and you have moist curds. Pull the bowl off the mixer and fold-in olives.
- Turn the dough out, kneed briefly to bring dough together. Divide it in half. Roll each half into a slender log 8-81/2 inches long. Wrap the logs in plastic and refrigerate over night (or freeze).
- When you are ready to bake, position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- One log at a time, cut cold dough into 1/4 inch discs and place them on baking sheets, about an inch apart.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes rotating halfway through (done cookies will be firm to the touch). Remove from oven and allow to cool on sheets for at least 3 minutes. Carefully transfer to racks to cool completely.