Developing a recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies was initimidating. Chocolate chip cookies are arguably the most perfect dessert, but everyone likes their chocolate chip cookies slightly different. Some people want crispy cookies. Some want chewy cookies. Some want their cookies to be both. Some people want a lot of chocolate. Some want less chocolate. Some people like big cookies. Some like small cookies. There are so many variations.
So in the end we developed our perfect chocolate chip cookies. These vegan chocolate chip cookies are fairly large and have slightly crispy edges with soft centers. Like any good chocolate chip cookie, the dough part of the cookies has a deep, complex flavor that is reminiscent of butterscotch. We’re not going to call these THE perfect chocolate chip cookies, because you might want your chocolate chip cookies to be different than these. But these are dang good and perfect to us!
Important note! If you’re too impatient to let the dough rest for 24 hours, do it anyway! I mean, you do you. But the flavor won’t be nearly as deep and delicious if you don’t let it rest for at least a few hours.
For more of our chocolate recipes, try our Vegan Chocolate Mousse, Vegan Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Ice Cream Frosting, and our Vegan Matcha and Chocolate Eclairs.
Make sure to check out the recipe notes for additional information and tips.
If you try this recipe, leave us a comment below to let us know how it goes. We would love to hear from you!
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- hand mixer
- 4 tbsp cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 125 g vegan butter softened
- 120 g dark brown sugar
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1⅛ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 113 g unsweetened applesauce
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 113 g chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Use a mixer to cream together the butter, sugar, dark brown sugar, and vanilla for a few minutes until well-mixed. It is possible to overwhip the butter and sugar, so stop mixing once the mixture is homogenous. Add the baking powder, baking powder, and salt and continue mixing until incorpoarted. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary to ensure the mixture is well-combined and homogeneous.
- Mix in the applesauce until fully incorporated. The mixture may look "split" at this point.
- Add the flour and mix with a spatula/spoon by hand just until no dry flour remains.
- Fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Scoop dough onto a tray lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. It should make about 12 cookies 4 tbsps each.
- (Optional) Top each cookie with 2-3 pieces of extra chopped chocolate.
- Cover and chill in the fridge for 24 hours.
- Move the tray to the freezer and freeze the dough completely before baking. About 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Arrange desired number of cookies on a baking tray lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Bake in the center of the oven until the outer ½-in edges of the cookies are golden brown and the centers are still pale (or desired doneness). About 17 minutes for 2 cookies + 1 minute for every 2 additional cookies. 6-8 cookies can fit on a half sheet tray.
Notes
This vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe was developed with the following products:
- Vegan butter: Trader Joe’s Vegan Buttery Spread
- Kosher salt: Redmond Real Salt Kosher
- Chocolate: Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate bar
- Vanilla extract: Heilala Pure Vanilla Extract
These are disgustingly good. And, for anyone who is curious if freezing the dough makes a difference, it makes the cookies crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. However, they will also be fine if the dough is only refrigerated beforehand; the cookies will just be all-crispy or all-chewy, depending on how long you cook them.