Olive Oil Orange and Fennel Cookies
Inspired by Mediterranean ingredients, these olive oil cookies are layered with orange zest, fennel, dark chocolate, and a sprinkle of flaky salt. They're balanced with just the right amount of sweetness to create a perfectly chewy, fragrant, and sophisticated cookie for your cookie boxes or holiday gatherings!
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Servings: 15 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookie dough
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 orange, zested (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- ½ cup good-quality olive oil
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon fennel seeds, ground or finely chopped
- 1 cup chopped dark chocolate (optional), preferably from a bar
For the rolling sugar (optional)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, ground or finely chopped
- Flaky salt, for garnishing
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground fennel seeds, and salt. Set aside.
- Place the granulated sugar and orange zest in a large bowl, then use your hands or a spoon to rub them together until the sugar clumps and becomes fragrant, around 1 minute.
- Add in the molasses, then use your hands or a whisk to mix until evenly incorporated and no clumps of molasses remain.
- Whisk in the olive oil, followed by the egg and vanilla extract. Once combined and smooth, stir in the dry ingredients until a dough forms. Right before the flour is fully combined, add in the chopped chocolate and mix until no more streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight. If you need the cookies quicker, you can freeze the scooped dough until completely solid (around 1-2 hours), then proceed with the recipe.
- To bake, preheat the oven to 375℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the tray of dough from the fridge and use a cookie scoop to portion out the dough.
- To make the fennel sugar, mix together ¼ cup of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons ground fennel in a bowl until combined. Roll each ball of dough into the sugar until fully coated.
- Evenly space the cookies 2'' apart onto the parchment-lined pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through.
- Remove the cookies from the oven once golden brown and set, but do not overbake—they will set more as they cool. Once out of the oven, sprinkle the cookies with flaky salt and allow to cool before serving.
Notes
Freezing instructions: Scoop any leftover dough onto a baking sheet and pop the tray in the freezer for an hour. Once firm to the touch, transfer the dough balls to a plastic bag and keep in the freezer for 3-6 months. When you want to bake, there’s no need to thaw—just bake the cookies as normal (though they might need an extra minute or two in the oven).