Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Tried and true, these are the most perfect vegan chocolate chip cookies ever! Made in 1 bowl and oh-so-soft, chewy and full of chocolate chips!
Everybody has their go-to, tried and true chocolate chip cookie recipe, right? Well, I used to before going vegan and since then it’s been hit or miss. I have tried countless recipes over the years, and some have been pretty good but I had yet to find the PERFECT recipe I was looking for. Until now.
What makes these cookies so perfect?
- They are SO soft, chewy and full of chocolate chips. They aren’t too flat, and they aren’t too puffy and cake-like. No one would guess they’re vegan, unlike some cookie recipes I’ve tried.
- They’re made in 1 bowl.
- No chilling time is required for the dough. So you can have cookies to eat FAST!
How to make vegan chocolate chip cookies
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the softened vegan butter and brown sugar.
- Mix in the flax egg and vanilla.
- Add the flour, and then sprinkle the cornstarch, baking soda and salt on top of the flour. Mix on low to combine.
- Mix in the chocolate chips.
- Look at that cookie dough! Perfection.
- Roll the dough into 1-2 tablespoons sized balls. Bake for about 10 minutes for smaller cookies, or 12 for larger cookies, until puffy and just slightly golden on the sides. They will look underdone, but will firm up considerably as they cool. Do not over bake!
Are all chocolate chips vegan?
No, a lot of brands have milk fat or butter oil in them. Check the ingredients to ensure vegan friendliness. Trader Joe’s brand of semi-sweet chocolate chips happen to be vegan, as are Guittard. Costco sometimes carries the Kirkland brand of semi-sweet chocolate chips, which are also vegan and a great price if you can find them! There is also Enjoy Life, which you can find on Amazon or Whole Foods.
If you are really having trouble finding vegan chocolate chips, you can always look for dairy free chocolate bars, and chop them into chunks.
What should the cookie dough feel like?
The cookie dough should be soft and mushy, but not too wet or too dry. You should be able to easily roll it into balls. If it feels too wet, add a few tablespoons of flour at a time until it’s just right. If it’s too dry, add a tablespoon or two of almond milk.
This is important because the kind of vegan butter (or coconut oil) you use will affect the dough, as well as how you measure your flour, and just the temperature and altitude of where you live. If your dough is too wet, the cookies will spread; if too dry the cookies won’t spread enough.
That said, I never have to add extra flour or milk when I make them exactly as written.
How to freeze the dough
Roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze in a large ziplock type bag. When you want to bake cookies simply preheat the oven and bake, adding a few more minutes since the dough was frozen.
Baked cookies also freeze well and are wonderful straight from the freezer. I love having frozen cookies to throw in my kid’s lunch box on school days.
Want more vegan cookie recipes?
- Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Classic Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Vegan Ginger Cookies
Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2.5 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) vegan butter, slightly softened to room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups non-dairy chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly spray with oil.
- Mix the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and set aside to make your flax egg.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened vegan butter and brown sugar for 1-2 minutes until creamy.
- Add the vanilla and the flax egg and mix to combine.
- Next, stop the mixer and add the flour. Sprinkle the cornstarch, baking soda and salt on top of the flour. Turn the mixer on low speed, and mix until just combined.
- Add in the chocolate chips to incorporate, either by hand or using the mixer.
- Roll the dough into balls, about 1-2 tablespoons each. Place on the prepared pans and bake for 10 minutes (12 minutes for larger cookies), until they are barely golden around the edges. Do not over bake! They will be puffy and lightly colored.
- Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. The cookies will firm up as they cool, and become the most perfect chewy cookies ever! Enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Cookies will stay fresh for 3-4 days, if they last that long.
- TIP: Freeze cookie dough balls to have on hand to make just a few cookies at a time! Simply cook for 1-2 minutes more, no need to thaw.
- May substitute coconut oil for the vegan butter if desired. Just make sure it's not melted, you want it to be semi-firm.
- If you don't like salt in your cookies or your vegan butter is very salty already, you may omit the salt.
- Recipe inspired by Sally's Baking Addiction.
Nutrition
*Post last updated August 15th, 2019.
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1,051 Comments on “Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies”
I bring these cookies to anyone and everyone I knows house when visiting for a birthday, bbq, bonfire, etc! They are a HUGE hit and definitely the number one thing I get compliments on that I cook. Lights out recipe. Thanks Nora!
I’m thrilled the cookies are a hit at all your gatherings! We sure love these cookies at our house! Thank you so much for your great review and feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
can you use vegan liquid eggs instead?
I’ve actually never tried it but it should work fine. Probably about 2-3 tablespoons.
Thank you for the best vegan cookies! Have you tried to make it gluten free?
You are welcome! I’m glad you are enjoying them! Yes, they work well with a gluten free flour mix! I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 and King Arthur Measure for Measure and they both worked perfectly.
Thank you for the recipe. I have never baked anything from scratch so I was very nervous. I followed everything exactly as you wrote it an my cookies came out delicious! I did 2 tablespoon sized balls so I cooked for 12 minutes. They stayed pretty round and I thought maybe they were undercooked so after about 10 minutes, I decided to try one. It did seem a tiny bit undercooked but I didn’t want to stray from the directions, since I had no idea what I was doing. I think I’ll wait for them to cool down a bit more before trying another but for now I’m very happy and satisfied with how yummy they came out. If I wanted to, could I use less sugar and chips to make them less sweet?
Hi Leilani. I’m glad you liked the cookies! I hope they ended up being just like you love them! You can use less sugar and chips if desired. Thank you for your feedback!
Thanks so much for the recipe it came out great!! I used plant butter and I made my own butter and they still came out great my daughter and husband loved them.
You are welcome! My family loves this recipe! Thank you for your wonderful review and comments!