These ultra-fudgy, super chewy, salted chocolate rosemary cookies are filled with fresh rosemary and chocolate chips in every bite for a deliciously seasonal cookie. Made in under 30 minutes.
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My-oh-my, am I excited about the recipe I have for you today!
I’ve been sitting on it for several weeks now and today I finally get to share it with you. What is making me so excited? Why it’s these Salted Chocolate Rosemary Cookies! In fact, this is the first NEW holiday cookie recipe I've brought to you in the last couple of years and it's just in time for holiday baking season. Are you ready?
These delicious vegan chocolate cookies are the ultimate Christmas cookie – crisp chocolatey cookies with a fudgy middle and chocolate chips and fresh rosemary flavors bursting through in every bite. Starting to see why I’m so excited?
Let’s take a closer look at these cookies.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
These Chocolate Rosemary Cookies are a mix of my Double Chocolate Cookies and my Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies. They have a similar texture to that of the chocolate chip cookie with a little of the Double Chocolate's super fudginess. Then, packed with chocolate chips and rosemary, there is a burst of festive flavor in every bite.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Bari Rosemary-Infused Olive Oil
- White and Brown Sugar – Check out my guide to vegan sugars and healthy sugar alternatives.
- Vanilla Extract
- Applesauce – The applesauce acts as the binder for these cookies. You can’t taste the applesauce but if you would prefer a different kind of egg replacer, check out my complete guide on replacing eggs to get a few more ideas.
- All-Purpose Flour – I have also made these cookies with 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Baking Blend (<<affiliate link) with great success.
- Cocoa Powder
- Cornstarch - The cornstarch is the secret to keeping them puffy without spreading too much in the oven.
- Baking Soda
- Fresh Rosemary
- Vegan Chocolate Chips
- Salt
Recommended Equipment
For all my cookie recipes, I recommend a stand-up mixer. These make whipping, beating, and blending so much easier. However, they are pricy and if they are not in your budget, you can make cookies with by hand or with a handheld mixer.
In addition, you will need basic cooking equipment including a baking sheets, silicone baking mats, and a wire cooling rack. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
Best Oil For Chocolate Cookies
I love the combination of chocolate and rosemary. It adds the perfect festive flavor flair to these cookies, making them a MUST HAVE at your holiday parties this year. Because I want to use high-quality ingredients, when choosing the oil for these cookies, I turn to Bari Olive Oil Co.
Bari Olive Oil Co. is a California-based company that has been making high-quality olive oil for over 80 years. They are a family run company that is dedicated to producing the highest-quality products available. All their olives are grown in California, supporting local growers and organic small-batch processing, ensuring that their promise of high-quality is never compromised.
One of Bari's most recent products is their Rosemary-Infused Olive Oil and, friends, I could not wait to get my hands on this. It is incredible. The subtle flavors of rosemary come through in the most delicate way making it the olive oil of choice for these cookies. I also recommend trying this Rosemary-Infused Olive Oil for oven-roasted fingerling potatoes or as a dipping oil for a toasted baguette.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Cookies
Step One – Mix Dry Ingredients
That’s the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Because these cookies are made without eggs, the cornstarch is the secret to keeping them puffy without spreading too much in the oven.
Step Two – Make the Cookie Dough
In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, white and brown sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract. The applesauce acts as the binder (egg replacer). You can’t taste the applesauce but if you can't find applesauce or would prefer a different kind of egg replacer, check out my complete guide on replacing eggs to get a few more ideas.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until they are just combined. Be careful not to overmix or the dough will become gummy and dense. Fold in the chocolate chips and the minced rosemary.
Step Three - Scoop and Bake
Scoop the cookies onto the tray, about a dozen per tray, and press down slightly before placing them in the oven.
Pro Tip: For uniform cookies, I use a small cookie scoop. Cookie scoops allow all the cookies to be even with minimal mess.
Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes. Remove them from the oven when the edges have just started to set and the centers are still slightly underdone. This is key for the chewiness of these vegan chocolate cookies. Once they have cooled about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, they can be transferred to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Serving and Storing
Store Cookies: Once cookies are completely cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Raw dough can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Freeze Cookie Dough: If you only want to make only a few at a time, you can store the remaining dough in the freezer. To do this, roll all the dough into balls. Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer to freeze all the way through. Once frozen, transfer your cookie dough into a large ziplock bag and return to the freezer. You can store the cookies this way for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake, remove from freezer and bake!
Tips and Tricks
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Do not overmix the dough. Overmixing encourages the gluten to develop making your cookies gummy and dense.
- These cookies can be made in one bowl with a whisk and a spoon. However, if you have a stand-up mixer and find that easier, feel free to use it.
- Pull cookies out of the oven when they are slightly underdone. I found 11 minutes to be the perfect baking time but this will vary from oven to oven. They will continue to harden as they cool, giving you a crispy outside with a deliciously fudgy and chewy center.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Eggnog Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate-Dipped Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
- Classic Gingerbread People Cookies
Salted Chocolate Rosemary Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup Bari Rosemary-Infused Olive Oil
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup apple sauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
- coarse sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
- In a liquid measuring cup combine olive oil, both sugars, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well combined.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture stirring together with a wooden spoon until the wet ingredients are fully incorporated. You can also do this in a stand-up mixer if you'd like. Add the chocolate chips and fresh rosemary and mix until they are combined.
- Scoop cookies onto the prepared baking sheet. Each cook should be about 2 tablespoons in size. Press down slightly and bake the cookies for about 11 minutes.
- When cookies are done, they should have a crisp outer layer but the inside should still be slightly underdone. This is how we get our chewy texture. Remove the cookies from the oven. Tap on the counter to get the cookies to settle and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once cookies are completely cool, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Do not overmix the dough. Overmixing encourages the gluten to develop making your cookies gummy and dense.
- Pull cookies out of the oven when they are slightly underdone. I found 11 minutes to be the perfect baking time but this will vary from oven to oven. They will continue to harden as they cool, giving you a crispy outside with a deliciously fudgy and chewy center.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Lisa says
ROSEMARY. Will dried rosemary work if we can't get fresh?
Anna says
Honestly the best cookie I’ve ever made. I was shocked when I tasted them. My friends and family were so intrigued by the rosemary flavor! The first recipe I’ve tried making from this site and certainly not the last 🙂
Dawn says
can I substitute gluten free flour?
Hannah Stephings says
These look incredible, I'm hoping to make them this week.
I don't have apple sauce though- I might make my own but if not, is there anything I could substitute it for? Maybe vegan yogurt?
Sarah McMinn says
Vegan yogurt would work! Here is a guide to replacing eggs that might help you as well.
Sarah says
Hello,
This recipe looks very good. However I had a bit of a pickle when making them: they completely melted in the oven and I don’t know how to fix it, could you help me please? (Knowing that I had to convert the measurements to the metric system.)
Thank you!
Sarah says
I'll double-check the metric measurements. Was the dough fairly wet?
Alex Brown says
Amazing! These are the best cookies I’ve ever made!
Sarah says
So, so so so so so good. Perfectly chewy. Delightfully different. Even my picky 11-year-old went back for seconds. I didn't have the specific brand of olive oil recommended, so I made my own quickly, and just used a little bit of sea salt on the top. Perfection.
Jennifer Thomson says
I love the sound of these cookies...But! I tried to get the Bari’s Rosemary Olive Oil but don’t find it on their website. Could this be a seasonal product ? Or one that was offered to you to try before being release?
Faye Rivkin says
Omg I just made them using regular olive oil. They are out of this world!!! Thanks, Sarah!
Kelly says
Hi Sarah,
First I want to say I love your recipes!
Secondly, I’d love to make these cookies this weekend for some friends who are sugar-free. They do accept coconut sugar and like substitutes. What advice can you give me to substitute the sugar?
Thank you so much for the great recipes! I love the originality of this recipe!!
Kelly
Sarah says
I think coconut sugar should work. I'm not very familiar with baking with coconut sugar but I'm pretty sure a 1:1 ratio should be good.
Julie says
These look amazing! Can I substitute the cornstarch with amaranth powder, and what type of cocoa powder? I have both the light and dark (dutch) cocoa powders.
I also have fresh rosemary in my garden! I can't wait to bake these up.
Sarah says
I would recommend dark cocoa powder but either would do. I'm not very familiar with amaranth powder but it should work. You could also omit the cornstarch altogether. It will just make the cookie a little flatter.