These are the BEST vegan chocolate chip cookies. The recipe is easy to make with simple ingredients, using applesauce instead of eggs for a healthy swap. It makes a small batch of 2 dozen dairy-free cookies but can be easily doubled and leftovers are freezer-friendly. These chewy vegan cookies taste just like the ones you grew up making!

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I never realized I was so picky about chocolate chip cookies until T set out on a mission to create the best vegan chocolate chip cookies about a year ago. 

He tested many, many batches in the past 12 months, and all of a sudden I started coming up with a lot of strong opinions about how a chocolate chip cookie should taste, like some kind of cookie connoisseur. 

Through this delicious process, I’ve eaten some of the worst cookies of my life (looking at you burnt bottoms!) and some of the best. This is why I can say with certainty the recipe we share with you today is definitely the best of the best. 

What kind of chocolate chip cookies are these?

These chocolate chip cookies are slightly crisp on the bottom, soft and gooey in the center with chewy outsides that love to be dunked into (dairy-free) milk. 

They’re perfect. So perfect I could cry…and let’s be real here, I did. 

When T finally hit the nail on the head with this recipe, it 100% brought me back to Christmas time when I was a kid. My mom used to make chocolate chip cookies with my brother and me that tasted JUST like this. 

I could actually hear the holiday music we used to play (specifically, Hanson + Alvin and the Chipmunks) while I was eating them. Those were the best times, and these vegan chocolate chip cookies really transport me back to it.

Thanks, T. 🙂

But whether it’s Christmas memories you’re after or it’s the middle of July and you just want to go rogue and bake a batch of cookies to calm your nerves and soothe your soul, I highly recommend the chocolate chip cookie recipe we’re sharing with you today!

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Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with 10 Simple Ingredients

All-purpose flour:

This is pretty much a standard ingredient in any classic cookie recipe. Make sure you’re using all-purpose flour and NOT “white whole wheat flour”. I have been fooled by this before, and it will greatly impact the texture (in a very negative way). 

Not that I have anything against whole wheat, but if I’m making cookies, they’re going to be COOKIES, damnit. And that means all-purpose flour. 

For our gluten-free friends: We have not tried this recipe with gluten-free all-purpose flour, but I think it could work if you’re willing to play around with the measurements a bit. Let us know if you give it a try! 

Baking soda:

This is another standard cookie ingredient. 

Note this is baking SODA, not baking powder. Depending on how long you’ve been cooking, you may think this is an obvious one, but you would be surprised how many people think they’re interchangeable!

Salt:

Another standard cookie ingredient. Just a pinch makes all the flavors pop.

Dark brown sugar:

You want to be sure you’re using dark brown sugar here and not the light stuff. Unfortunately, this means subbing coconut sugar is out too.

White sugar:

Because really – what are cookies without sugar?

Vegan Butter:

Our favorite brand of vegan butter right now (because more seem to come out all the time which is awesome), is the Country Crock plant butter sticks. They are AMAZING, and we see them at pretty much every grocery store in our area. 

That’s what we used for this recipe, and I love that they come in sticks for easy measuring. Earth Balance also makes sticks but I don’t find them as easily in grocery stores around here. However, any vegan butter should work. 

If you don’t want to use vegan butter, refined coconut oil can be used, but it will affect the texture of your cookie quite a bit. They may also be a little flatter and spread out more. But this may not be a bad thing if it’s what you’re after. 

It should be noted we haven’t tried these exact cookies with the coconut oil sub, but it is a sub I’ve made in the past. If you do use coconut oil, I’d recommend using it slightly chilled rather than in its melted form.

Applesauce:

The applesauce in this recipe is used to replace the eggs, a classic egg-free baking swap! 

It makes these vegan chocolate chip cookies so soft and fluffy, and I love it. It’s also an easy ingredient to find pretty much anywhere. I love that too.

Pure Vanilla Extract:

For a spot of flavor.

Water:

You’ll add a little to the dough to achieve that perfect consistency.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips:

We like the Enjoy Life chocolate chips but also notice a lot of grocery stores are coming out with store brand chocolate chips with no dairy in them. 

Even big brands like Nestle seem to be coming out with some kind of “natural” version of their product that doesn’t have dairy in it. 

So, you can go with the fancy organic stuff or just check the ingredients on the bags of chocolate chips at your local grocery store. You may be surprised at the number of vegan-friendly products you find!

How to Make the Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

The recipe is easy to make and awesome for families, partners, or friends who want to cook together!

Step One: Prep

The first step is to preheat your oven to 300F while you gather your ingredients.

And maybe throw on some tunes and pour yourself a glass of wine while you cook. What? Just me? 😉

Step 2: Make Your Cookie Dough

Grab a small mixing bowl and add the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk that until it’s combined and put it aside. You’ll add this to the mixer last.

Then, grab a large mixing bowl and add your sugars. Use an electric mixer (a hand mixer or stand mixer, either will do!) to combine the dark brown sugar and white sugar. Make sure you’re using a lower setting here, as you don’t want the sugar to go flying around the kitchen. (Yep, that happened.)

Then, you’ll add the vegan butter and continue mixing, stopping to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Follow this with the applesauce, vanilla extract, and a few Tbsp of water. 

Mix it all on medium speed until the dough is light and somewhat airy.

Next, to finish the cookie dough, you’ll slowly add in the all-purpose flour/salt/baking soda mixture until everything is nice and combined. Then, stop your mixer and fold in your chocolate chips with a rubber spatula or spoon. 

Now, you have your cookie dough. Yay!

Step 3: Bake your cookies.

Finally, you’ll drop your cookies on an ungreased (non-stick) cookie sheet. We actually have one dedicated JUST for cookies now, and that’s a practice I highly recommend. 

This recipe should make about 2 dozen cookies if you’re using just a little more than  ½ Tbsp of cookie dough per cookie. Also, make sure you’re leaving about 1-2 inches between each cookie. (Unless you just want one giant cookie…which is a valid desire in my opinion.)

In 17 – 19 minutes, your cookies will be ready to…cool. 

I know, I KNOW it’s going to be difficult, but you have to let them cool on a wire rack for at least a couple minutes, so they don’t burn your mouth. 

I totally understand how difficult this can be.

But, I also understand how much it sucks when you make a big batch of awesome cookies and burn your mouth on the first one. You are welcome.

How to Store Chocolate Chip Cookies

In the fridge/pantry: You can store these vegan chocolate chip cookies in an air-tight container in your pantry or the fridge if you like cold cookies (sometimes I’m into that!). Stored this way, they should be good for about 2 weeks.

In the freezer: You can also FREEZE these cookies, which is awesome because the recipe makes about 2 dozen which can be a lot when there’s only two of you.

To freeze these chocolate chip cookies, just place them in an air-tight container and in the freezer. They should be good for at least 2 months stored like this. When you’re ready to eat them, leave the container on the counter to defrost for a few hours and dig in!

As for freezing the cookie dough before baking it: We haven’t tried it yet, but I think it would work nicely. Let us know if you do!

How to Serve Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are best served straight outta the oven (but after the aforementioned cooling time). Although honestly, they still taste amazing even a week after we make them.

You can go the traditional route and serve them with a tall glass of dairy-free milk. Our favorite is Silk’s original soy milk – SO creamy and delicious and old-school vegan (love that). 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies + Wine Pairing

For a fun and far more adult-y way to serve these cookies, we suggest pairing them with an Argentinian Malbec. We’re big fans of this one!

Almost any red wine should work (this Shiraz would be great too!), but we found the spicy notes in an Argentinian red really livened up the taste of the cookie – almost like it had a cinnamon infusion! 

I love pairing wines with desserts like this; it’s so fun! If you try it, let us know.

More Vegan Dessert Recipes

• PB+J Cups
• Vegan Cannoli Cones
• Vegan White Chocolate Fudge

When you make these classic cookies, let us know how it goes! We love seeing how you’re using our recipes to kick ass in your own kitchen!

You can rate the recipe and leave a comment below or tag us in your chocolate chip cookie photos on Instagram. If you’re not already following along, we’re @theplantpowercouple with the “the”. 

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We’ll end this post by raising a glass of red in one hand and a half-eaten chocolate chip cookie in the other. To you and your future baking endeavors, my friend. Cheers!

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