Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Sarah

in Cookies, Dairy-Free, Desserts, Egg-Free, vegan

These are the *yummiest* chocolate chip cookies that I have made yet. They are chewy, with a soft chocolatey center that fills your mouth with melted chocolate when they are warm right out of the oven.

Chloe's vegan chocolate chip cookies

And the best part is, these cookies are vegan! Many people equate vegan baked goods to bland or less tasty, but by far this cookie is much tastier than the many non-vegan chocolate cookies I have tried in the past. The recipe comes from Chloe’s Vegan baking book, which highlights some classic baked goods made vegan. I first came across Chloe watching the show Cupcake Wars on which she was a winning contestant.

Her kind demeanor, paired with her delicious vegan cupcakes that won in the taste category over the non-vegan competitors, convinced me I needed to read her book if I wanted to try vegan baking. Since getting her book a few months ago, I’ve tried a few of her recipes, and I have been impressed by many of them. This cookie is certainly one of my favorites.

Chloe's Chocolate chip cookies

To make this cookie vegan, the main thing is to use vegan margarine, and vegan semisweet chocolate chips. Now you may be thinking, where do I get these? Vegan margarine comes in many kinds, but after some research online, Earth Balance seems to be the kind best suited for baking. I use the Earth Balance Buttery Spread original. You can pick these up online, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, pretty much any major grocery store. Vegan margarine is healthier than butter (vegan margarine does not have cholesterol!), and after substituting it for butter in many recipes I see no difference in taste.

Vegan chocolate chips are harder to come by. Some grocery stores have them (I got mine at Sprouts) but not a lot. Online might be a good option if you don’t live next to a grocery with these. The Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips is by far my favorite brand and I use this every time I say I’m using “chocolate chips”  ~ I think they taste better than the non-vegan chocolate chips I’ve gotten in the past.

The recipe in the book is simple, and I made the cookie some very slight modifications:

Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

Creamed ingredients

  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 cup vegan margarine
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Other

  • 1 cup chocolate chips dairy free

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • With an electric mixer, beat creamed ingredients till creamy. Add dry ingredients and continue beating till well incorporated.
  • Add 1 cup chocolate chips. Put 1 round tablespoon of dough at a time onto the baking sheet, with 2 inches between each dough ball (cookies will spread). Bake 15 minutes till edges turn golden brown. It's okay if the center is still a little soft, the cookie will cool to a chewy texture at room temperature.
  • Let cool on a baking rack, and serve.

For more vegan baking ideas, try these recipes:

1. Cranberry Pear Pear Pie (pie recipe also from Chloe’s Vegan Baking Book)

Cranberry Pear Pie

2. Pipette Cupcakes pipette cupcakes - one cupcake

Leave a Comment

{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Erin L January 8, 2016 at 6:02 pm

These cookies turned out absolutely divine!! Not sure if I’ve ever made such delicious cookies as these. Such a simple recipe; didn’t even have to go to the store to buy anything because these were all ingredients I already had in my house! Baked them for exactly 15 minutes as the recipe calls for, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Thanks so much for posting this!!! 🙂

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2 Sarah January 9, 2016 at 12:40 am

Hi Erin, I’m so happy these cookies turned out great for you! That’s wonderful!! I like that the recipe uses simple ingredients I have around the house too!

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3 Karina February 4, 2015 at 9:16 pm

These are the best cookies I’ve ever made, and I love that the recipe called for things I already had in my pantry!! These are going to be a hit at the bake sale.

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4 Sarah February 4, 2015 at 11:16 pm

Thanks Karina! I’m so glad you like these! 🙂

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5 Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom January 20, 2015 at 12:43 pm

love these cookies!!! totally going to buy some vegan margarine!! Have you tried baking with coconut oil yet?

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6 Sarah January 20, 2015 at 5:10 pm

Glad you like them Alice! I haven’t tried baking with coconut oil yet, but it’s on my list of things to try! For vegan margarine, I tried Smart Balance and Earth Balance in cookies and the Earth Balance ones turn out better, fyi!

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7 Linda August 5, 2014 at 11:35 pm

These are so yummy. My one year old and I love them. Because of her dairy allergy she doesn’t get to eat a lot of sweets. I wanted something for both our sweet tooth and this is it. Thanks for posting this recipe!

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8 Sarah August 7, 2014 at 8:31 am

Hi Linda, I’m so glad you and your daughter like these!

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9 Maddy February 19, 2014 at 12:07 pm

I’ve been looking for another vegan cookie recipe! Thanks for posting this. Could the margarine be substituted for shortening? (SPECTRUM brand) your pictures make them look soooo good!

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10 Sarah February 19, 2014 at 6:37 pm

Hi Maddy, I think substituting the margarine with shortening is fine. I haven’t tried it in cookies (though I do use the same shortening as you, but for cakes). After looking up the margarine v. shortening question online, it seems using shortening instead of margarine is common in vegan cookies. These sources are where I looked:

1) http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/techniquessubstitutions/a/nobutterbaking.htm (see the “baking cookies without butter section)
2) http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=2763&catId=2

Hope that helps! :o) glad you like the recipe + photos!

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11 Rossi @ A Baking Girl February 16, 2014 at 8:07 pm

I think you forgot to include the vegan margarine in the recipe. Otherwise, these cookies look delicious, and I can’t believe that they’re vegan! Score!

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12 Sarah February 16, 2014 at 9:47 pm

Thanks Rossi! I just fixed it. Glad you like the cookies 🙂

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