If ever there was an ideal time to bake cookies, it would be now. At this very moment, cookie swaps are happening across the nation, and gifts of cookie platters and cookie baskets are being piled high. Rainbows of doughs are rolling out on kitchen counters, a world of flavored batters are being dropped onto baking sheets, and scores of every shape a cookie cutter can create are cooling on wire racks. Just imagine what it would look like if we could take a peek at the combined efforts of all those holiday bakers, hard at work. The scent of sugar rising into the brisk air and cookbook pages encrusted in flour, it just wouldn’t be Chanukah or Christmas without a full menu of cookies planned for hungry friends and family to devour.
As much as I may crave the classics, the desire to create something new and exciting always take the reins when assembling ingredients, and no two cookie trays ever end up alike. Simple, straight-forward bakery-style chocolate chip cookies are easily my most requested variety, a rare recipe that I do actually follow without variation… Most of the time.
Using the holidays as my license to experiment, I wanted to give the basic idea a bit of a savory, salty twist, to balance out the sweeter items sure to follow. An unexpected hint of herbaceous rosemary adds an unexpected but entirely welcome change of pace, further enhanced by the natural nuttiness of crunchy toasted pecans. Inspired by the addictive party snack of spiced rosemary nuts, I couldn’t help but keep the theme going and tossing in a generous dose of spice here as well. Lending a bright kick just as the taste of chocolate and pecans begin to fade, it’s the element that makes you go back for just one more bite, trying to pinpoint what that enchanting flavor was.
It’s certainly not your grandma’s or your mom’s chocolate chip cookie, but that’s probably a good thing, too. With so many options already available around this time of year, why not take the opportunity to try something a bit different?
Spiced Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies

An unexpected hint of herbaceous rosemary adds an unexpected but entirely welcome change of pace, further enhanced by the natural nuttiness of crunchy toasted pecans. Inspired by the addictive party snack of spiced rosemary nuts, I couldn’t help but keep the theme going and tossing in a generous dose of spice here as well. Lending a bright kick just as the taste of chocolate and pecans begin to fade, it’s the element that makes you go back for just one more bite, trying to pinpoint what that enchanting flavor was.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter, Melted
- 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
- 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary (or 1 Teaspoon Dried), Finely Chopped or Ground
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Toasted and Chopped Pecans
- 1/2 Cup (3 Ounces) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, blend together the melted butter, both sugars, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth and fully combined.
- Sift the flour into a separate bowl, and add in all of the spices, rosemary, baking soda, and salt. Lightly toss both the pecan pieces and chocolate chips in, to coat with the flour.
- Add the dry goods into the stand mixer in two additions, being careful not to overwork the dough but mix it just enough to bring everything together, without any pockets of flour lurking at the bottom. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions so that everything gets incorporated.
- Scoop out dough with a medium-sized cookie scoop, or two large spoons in about 3 – 4 tablespoon portions. Give the cookies plenty of space on your prepared baking sheets, leaving at least and inch between blobs. I usually bake only 9 per sheet, to ensure that none of them spread and collide. Flatten the raw cookie dough out lightly with the palm of your hand, so that they’re nice and round, and about 1/2 inch in thickness.
- Bake for 12 – 16 minutes, watching closely to make sure that they are just barely golden brown around the edges when you pull the from the oven. They should still look fairly under-baked in the center, to ensure a soft and chewy texture.
- Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, and then move them off to a wire rack. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week, if they last that long.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
18Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 107mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g
All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.
Yum – you’ve made me speechless with your amazing combo of flavors. I must make these cookies!
“no two cookie trays ever end up alike” so true and may I even accentuate it more by saying that no two cookies ever end up alike which is what I like in them. Each one of them look so old-fashioned, personable and handmade, making them a great gift around this time of the year as you rightfully say.
Mmmmm! I love rosemary in sweets!
Oh, you are brilliant, my dear! I always love a twinge of savory or unexpected flavor in a classic recipe. And I have rosemary in my fridge…yippeeee!
This recipe is great
With all those spices,these cookies must taste really good!
This sounds so good:)
Christmas Eve is all about cookies for me…oh, and company of course, to eat the cookies :) I use the same three-tier cookie stand my mom used on Christmas Eve. It’s about time I started making the cookies now actually.
yumm yumm.. i love the spicy twist in these cookies.. and yes, none of my 2 trays also come out the same! gotta bake up more cookies and biscottis today! i think this combination will work ver well even in the biscottis!
how you get these cookies to hold together without egg or an egg substitute like flaxmeal?
They simply don’t need eggs! I never learned to bake with animal products, so I don’t formulate my recipes to “replace” them. :)
Thanks! That’s great. I’m gonna try it.
Love this twist! And I like rosemary a lot too so it’s perfect
OMG ! Good idea to put the cayenne and paprika, I will try!
This flavor combination sounds fantastic! Love the addition of smoked paprika.
Oh la la, I love this innovation of chocolate chip cookies. I agree that for a cookie swap, this would be a great one to bring because of its uniqueness. FoodGawker has me wanting to bake different kinds of cookies everyday. Not good for my body!
What a perfect looking cookie. Like that sweet/savory balance too.
these sounds delicious, can’t wait to try them! this is the second rosemary recipe i have discovered today. did you know that rosemary is one of the top 19 foods that help the body to naturally combat radiation poisoning? three cheers for this wonderful medicine!!!
ps. love the falling snow hannah!
YES. This is all that is good. Can’t wait to try ’em.
I just made these cookies and OMG! They are the most delish cookies I have made to date. Hannah, you are an amazing and inventive baker. I love your cookbooks and I love your blogs. I used pecans and fresh rosemary from my garden.
Ooops, I didn’t mean pecans from my garden. Just the rosemary.
Wow, that was incredibly fast! I’m so thrilled you found the recipe so inspiring, and ultimately tasty. Your comment really brightened my day!
Amazing flavors in addition to a stunning photo. Saw your picture on Foodgawker and had to let you know that it is one of the best cookie photos I’ve ever seen on the site! Beautiful!!
Considering how many hundreds of cookies must be posted there, that’s a huge compliment! Thank you so much! :)
I have been a cookie baking machine lately and thought I was all sweet-ed out. Until I saw this little savory hint in these chocolate chips. Now I’m back on the bandwagon and all is right in the world.
i honestly can’t wrap my head around what these will taste like… so i suppose i’ll have to make them and find out! :)
Strangely enough I’ve never been a real cookie maker. I bake and I remember baking cookies as a kid but somehow it stopped there. I’ve seen so many pretty ones lately that I’m very tempted to start baking cookies too.
It was falling in love with the rosemary-tinted Union Square Cafe nuts recipe years ago that kickstarted my obsession with using “savoury” herbs in sweet recipes. Hannah, darling, who could ever want plain choc chip cookies when you’re creating these wonders? Only silly people, that’s who.
And probably my grandparents.
What a cool, sophisticated spice combo. I’m back in Canada for the holidays so I’m going to use your recipe to do a comparison between the non-dairy margarine available in France and here. You’ve launched a holiday project!
I just shared this on my FB page along with another chocolate/rosemary recipe that I JUST came across. You guys are on to something!
The addition of rosemary makes everything taste better. :)
That is one absolutely, gorgeous cookie. I see a lot of pretty desserts in my line of work, but that one is just so perfect! It’s like the archetypal chunky cookie. But with rosemary. Which makes it even better. Well played. ;)
That means even more coming from you! I always love seeing your column on Serious Eats. Thanks. :)
These look delicious!! Thanks for sharing the recipe :)
They look mouthwatering! (Everytime again!)
Yum, another unique recipe to try, thanks for sharing!
mmm choco cookie topped with little white snow drops. delish.
Wow! There’s not that many unusual variations of the chocolate chip cookie. Certainly none that looks this good! :-)
That is a fine looking chocolate chip cookie! I love the addition of nuts since I am a huge nut lover.
I LOOOOOVE the sound of these! There’s this cake with chocolate a rosemary that I’ve been meaning to try and now I can’t wait to try these cookies too. Not to mention they look completely perfect.
I love the spiced rosemary nuts and think it’s genius to make a cookie with the same ingredients especially with the chocolate it must be amazing! These are definitely going on my gifts for friends list and I might just have to steal a few for myself!!
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oh my god! I am absolutely in Love with your sweets now :)
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I made these cookies tonight — best cookies I’ve had in my life! Hoping the dough in the fridge is just as good tomorrow!
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These spiced rosemary cc cookies look amazing!!! Can I use butter instead of non-dairy margarine? Thanks!
I’m afraid I don’t have any experience with butter as I only started baking after going vegan. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
[…] Spiced Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies by Hannah Kaminsky are certainly not your grandma’s or your mom’s chocolate chip cookie, but that’s probably a good thing, too. With so many options already available around this time of year, why not take the opportunity to try something a bit different? […]
Thanks for the cookie recipe. Yummy.
Again a recipe for my cookie collection. Super delicious cookies.