Crispy on the outside, yet soft and chewy on the inside, these homemade lavender & sea salt chocolate chunk cookies are an elegant twist on your average cookie recipe.
I’ve been on a lavender kick lately.
Not just with the lavender essential oil and lotions that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but I’ve been itching to experiment with it in my recipes.
Ever since I made my Mocha Chip Lavender Ice Cream I’ve been daydreaming of other delicious ways to use it.
These soft and gooey lavender & sea salt chocolate chunk cookies hit the spot.
They’re the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe with hints of floral minty lavender, dark chocolate chunks and bits of sea salt flakes. A perfect Spring treat!
The chocolate chip cookie recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction (original recipe here).
Honestly, there’s not many bakers I trust for baking recipes besides her. She always delivers :).
Her method for making perfect chocolate chip cookies was similar to the tricks I learned while going to culinary school.
Tips for making perfect homemade soft and chewy lavender chocolate chip cookies:
- You must use room temperature butter and eggs! Using cold butter or eggs will seize up the batter and disrupt the creaming process causing your cookies to be hard.
- You want to let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This will stop the cookies from spreading too much when baking.
- Rolling the cookie dough in your hands before placing them on the baking sheet will also create that perfect chewy texture. It also creates uniform, round cookies.
Ingredients Needed for Lavender & Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookies:
- Butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking Soda
- Sea Salt
- Dried Lavender buds
- Chocolate Chunks
I know cornstarch is probably not in your every day cookie recipe, but it helps keep these cookies soft and chewy on the inside :).
You can easily find dried lavender online.
I bought my dried lavender buds on Amazon for under $10 (affiliate link).
It was a decent size bag that will definitely last me a while (unless I start going overboard on the lavender recipes!)
If you’ve never used dried lavender, aside from its pretty purple color, it has a minty yet floral aroma.
At first smell, it might seem strong and overpowering, but if used with the right flavors, it can be a unique and delicate taste.
In these lavender & sea salt chocolate chunk cookies, the lavender pairs perfect with the dark chocolate giving the cookies a unique flavor.
The texture is soft and chewy like a Tollhouse cookie, but better because they’re made from scratch (duh!).
For more Lavender Recipes Try:
Lavender & Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Perfectly crispy on the outside, yet soft and chewy on the inside, these homemade lavender & sea salt chocolate chunk cookies are an elegant twist on your average cookie recipe.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature, 1.5 sticks
- ¾ cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Egg, at room temperature
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Dried Lavender Buds
- 1 ½ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks, or chocolate chips
- Course Sea Salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a large bowl with hand mixer or in stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and lavender. Add to the wet ingredients, and beat on low until combined.
- Add in the chocolate chunks and mix to combine evenly.
- Cover dough with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll dough into about 1" balls using your hands. Space about 2" apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown around the edges. Immediately sprinkle with sea salt once removed from oven before cooling.
- Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
*Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature or stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 336Total Fat: 18.24gSaturated Fat: 10.77gUnsaturated Fat: 6.35gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 117mgCarbohydrates: 42.61gFiber: 3gSugar: 29.57gProtein: 3.46g
Andrea
I made these today and they are delicious! I am wondering if they could be made without the cornstarch? My teacher bestie has a corn allergy, so sadly she can’t share in the joy of them.
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Hi Andrea, so glad to hear you liked the cookies! You could try substituting the cornstarch for arrowroot, or you can just substitute it with flour. Let me know if you do try the arrowroot!
David C
These cookies got me a girlfriend, 10/10
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Thanks David! So happy to hear 🙂
Tiff
Hi would love to try this recipe! I wanna know if you grounded up the buds or if you just added them whole? They seem hard to chew. Thank you!
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Hi Tiff, the lavender I use is culinary grade so it’s pretty grounded up already, however, if yours has bigger buds you can certainly ground them up before adding to the batter! You can either put them in a food processor or use a mortar and pestle. I hope you like them 🙂
April C
I have never baked (or ever used for that matter) with lavender, but I am trying to expand my culinary adventures. These cookies are amazing. The lavender gives a wonderfully light taste to a rich cookie and the salt sets it off perfectly. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Thank you so much April! So happy to hear you liked the cookies :).
Paige
Do you have any suggestions for making this recipe GF?
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Hi Paige! I would suggest using GF flour such as King Arthur.
Paige
Thank you! I used 1 to 1 baking flour. These are personally the best cookies I've ever had. Sooooo yummy. My husband said the lavender seems to balance out the sweetness. It's just a perfect compliment to the chocolate. I also used 1 tsp of lavender extract instead of the buds. Perfect!
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Thank you so much Paige, they're definitely one of my favorites too 🙂
L
I made these tonight and they are SO good! The lavender taste is subtle and not overpowering, which I was initially worried about. I did use butter that was a little cold, and the egg I used was pretty cold still when I mixed it in, which did result in hard batter (I have a 7 mth old, so I had to make this as quickly as possible during her nap), but adding a few tbs of whole milk into the batter helped with that. I will definitely be making these again! they are the perfect mix of fluffy and crispy.
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Hi Paige, thank you so much for sharing your feedback! I'm glad you liked them, and I can totally relate to trying to bake while the little ones nap ;).