Vegan Frosted Chocolate Cookies
Deliciously soft vegan chocolate cookies topped with a rich frosting.
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- Total time
- 30 minutes
- Makes
- 12 cookies
- Oven
- 350°F
- Ingredients
- 9
About these cookies
These are small, dark cocoa cookies with set edges, soft fudgy centers and a thick layer of vegan frosting on top. Melted coconut oil keeps the crumb tender and rich. Because the recipe has no egg replacer and no mixer, the dough comes together in one bowl of dry ingredients and one of wet. It's an easy recipe for birthdays, bake sales, or any time you want something chocolatey with frosting on it.
Steps
- Tap a step to check it off.
Tips for success
- Let your almond milk come to room temperature before you whisk it into the melted coconut oil. Cold almond milk can make the coconut oil firm up into small clumps, and then the dough won't come together smoothly.
- Use natural unsweetened cocoa powder if you can. Its natural acidity reacts with the baking soda and gives the cookies a gentle lift. Dutch-process cocoa still works, but the cookies will come out a little flatter and darker.
- The dough is thick and slightly oily. If it seems crumbly after mixing, add more almond milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it holds together when you scoop it.
- Take the cookies out at 10–12 minutes, as soon as the edges look set and the centers still look soft and slightly puffy. They firm up during the 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and baking them longer makes them dry.
- Let the cookies cool completely on the wire rack before you frost them. Even a slightly warm cookie will melt the vegan frosting and make it slide off.
Swaps
- Almond milk: swap in the same amount of unsweetened oat milk or soy milk. Soy milk makes a slightly richer cookie, and oat milk adds a faint sweetness. Both work the same way in the dough.
- Coconut oil: use 1/2 cup melted vegan butter instead. The cookies will taste more buttery and spread a little more, since vegan butter contains some water.
- Brown sugar: replace it 1:1 with coconut sugar for deeper caramel notes and a slightly drier, chewier cookie. If you stick with brown sugar, choose one labeled vegan or organic, because some refined sugars are processed with bone char.
- Store-bought vegan frosting: make about 1 cup at home. Beat 1/4 cup softened vegan butter with 1 1/2 cups vegan powdered sugar, 1–2 tablespoons almond milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract until fluffy. Add 2 tablespoons cocoa powder if you want chocolate frosting.
Storing
Store frosted cookies in a single layer (or with parchment between the layers) in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Move them to the fridge if your kitchen is warm, then let them sit out for 15 minutes before serving. For longer storage, freeze the cookies unfrosted for up to 3 months, then thaw them at room temperature and frost just before serving.
