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Portuguese Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Jeremiah Duarte Bills and adapted from Rebecca Firth
If I could be a cookie, I would be this cookie. American with Portuguese flavors. I took my favorite Rebecca Frith cookie recipe - her Big-Ass Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookie from The Cookie Book - on a Portuguese vacation.
Portugal is the land of olive oil; her cookie is already deeply imbued with this traditional ingredient. Next I added citrus and spice. Lemon and cinnamon are quintessential. You’ll find a whisper of anise which in this cookie doesn’t scream licorice but accentuates the flavor of the olive oil. Almonds and dried figs add crunch and chew and make up two of southern Portugal’s most loved ingredients. There’s a story that a Moorish prince planted fields of almond trees in the Algarve so that their spring blooms would remind his Nordic princess of snow, easing her homesickness. I also included a shot of Port wine because you can’t go to Portugal and not drink Port. The flavor will be subtle so if you’d rather drink it yourself, saude (cheers)!
Portuguese approved substitutions: You may substitute orange zest for the lemon, increase or decrease the spices. Use walnuts or chestnuts instead of the almonds. Egg yolks are the soul of Portuguese baking. You may substitute 3 large yolks for the whole egg for extra richness. If you have carob chips feel free to substitute some or all of the chocolate with carob chips (another popular southern Portuguese ingredient).
Makes 21 cookies
165 grams (3/4 cup packed) light brown sugar
50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar
72 grams (1/3 cup) high quality olive oil
43 grams (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
1/2 lemon, zested
50 grams (1 large) egg or 3 large egg yolks
15 grams (1 tbsp) Port wine or 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
136 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
68 grams (1/2 cup) bread flour (or more all-purpose)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground anise
120 grams (1 cup) dark chocolate coarsely chopped or chips
85 grams (3/4 cup) slivered almonds, toasted
50 grams (1/3 cup) dried figs, chopped
Flaky sea salt (preferably Portuguese) for sprinkling after baking, optional
Preheat oven to 350F.
By Jeremiah Duarte Bills and adapted from Rebecca Firth
If I could be a cookie, I would be this cookie. American with Portuguese flavors. I took my favorite Rebecca Frith cookie recipe - her Big-Ass Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookie from The Cookie Book - on a Portuguese vacation.
Portugal is the land of olive oil; her cookie is already deeply imbued with this traditional ingredient. Next I added citrus and spice. Lemon and cinnamon are quintessential. You’ll find a whisper of anise which in this cookie doesn’t scream licorice but accentuates the flavor of the olive oil. Almonds and dried figs add crunch and chew and make up two of southern Portugal’s most loved ingredients. There’s a story that a Moorish prince planted fields of almond trees in the Algarve so that their spring blooms would remind his Nordic princess of snow, easing her homesickness. I also included a shot of Port wine because you can’t go to Portugal and not drink Port. The flavor will be subtle so if you’d rather drink it yourself, saude (cheers)!
Portuguese approved substitutions: You may substitute orange zest for the lemon, increase or decrease the spices. Use walnuts or chestnuts instead of the almonds. Egg yolks are the soul of Portuguese baking. You may substitute 3 large yolks for the whole egg for extra richness. If you have carob chips feel free to substitute some or all of the chocolate with carob chips (another popular southern Portuguese ingredient).
Makes 21 cookies
165 grams (3/4 cup packed) light brown sugar
50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar
72 grams (1/3 cup) high quality olive oil
43 grams (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
1/2 lemon, zested
50 grams (1 large) egg or 3 large egg yolks
15 grams (1 tbsp) Port wine or 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
136 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
68 grams (1/2 cup) bread flour (or more all-purpose)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground anise
120 grams (1 cup) dark chocolate coarsely chopped or chips
85 grams (3/4 cup) slivered almonds, toasted
50 grams (1/3 cup) dried figs, chopped
Flaky sea salt (preferably Portuguese) for sprinkling after baking, optional
Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugars, olive oil, butter and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed until for 2 minutes or until light and creamy.
- Add the egg and Port wine or vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixer on low speed and mix until just combined. You should still see streaks of flour.
- Add the remaining ingredients (except the flaky sea salt) mixing on low speed until combined.
- Portion out 42 grams (3 tbsp) size balls of dough. If using chopped chocolate, make sure each ball has a larch chunk of chocolate on top to create a pool of melted chocolate while baking.
- Place balls on the prepared pans with room to spread.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. They will look slightly underdone but this is correct. Allow them to cool on the sheet pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool.
- Sprinkle the tops with flaky seas salt if you wish.