Classic Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Crisp edges, chewy centers, and pools of dark chocolate — 100% plant-based.
- Total time
- 25 mins
- Makes
- 18 cookies
- Oven
- 350°F
- Ingredients
- 9
About these cookies
These are the cookies to bake when you want a classic chocolate chip cookie that happens to be vegan. The edges turn crisp and caramel-golden, the centers stay soft and chewy, and 170 g of dairy-free dark chocolate chips melt into pools in every bite. Light brown sugar gives them a deep toffee flavor, and a little aquafaba holds everything together without eggs. They go from bowl to cooling rack in about 25 minutes.
Steps
- Tap a step to check it off.
Tips for success
- Whip the aquafaba just until it's foamy and slightly frothy, about 30 seconds with a whisk. You're not making meringue. Add it to the beaten vegan butter and sugars a little at a time so the mixture stays smooth and doesn't split.
- Use stick-style vegan butter that's soft enough to press with a finger but not greasy or melted. Tub spreads have more water and will make the cookies spread thin.
- Weigh the flour if you can. 200 g is the right amount, and scooping straight from the bag can pack in extra flour and give you dry, puffy cookies.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie (roughly 40 g) to get 18 cookies, and leave about 2 inches (5 cm) between them on the 2 sheets. Don't skip the 10-minute chill. It firms up the vegan butter so the cookies hold their shape in the oven.
- Take them out at 9–11 minutes, when the edges are golden but the centers still look a little pale and underbaked. They finish setting while they cool on the sheet, so let them sit 5–10 minutes before moving them.
Swaps
- No vegan butter: use 100 g of softened (not melted) refined coconut oil plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened plant milk. The cookies come out a bit crisper and spread slightly less, and refined oil keeps out any coconut flavor.
- No aquafaba: mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water, let it sit 5 minutes to thicken, then use it in place of the 60 ml aquafaba. The cookies will be a little denser and chewier, with a faint nutty flavor.
- No dairy-free dark chocolate chips: chop 170 g of a dairy-free dark chocolate bar into chunks. You'll get bigger melty puddles and thin shards running through the dough. Check the label, since some dark chocolate contains milk solids.
- No light brown sugar: use the same weight of dark brown sugar for a deeper molasses flavor and a slightly softer cookie, or coconut sugar for a less sweet, more caramel-like cookie. Choose certified-vegan or organic sugars, because some cane sugar is filtered with bone char.
Storing
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months. You can also freeze scooped dough balls and bake them from frozen at 350°F (175°C), adding 1–2 minutes to the bake time. To bring back that fresh-baked texture, warm cookies in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 3–4 minutes.
