Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Get ready to enjoy the best vegan chocolate chip cookies of your life. Crisp edges give way to an ultra-soft, gooey center, with rich, buttery flavor and dramatic pools of melted dark chocolate in every bite. Tested dozens of times for maximum enjoyment!
Servings: 12 jumbo cookies
Ingredients
- 12 TBSP (168g / 1.5 sticks) vegan butter, sliced into thick pats (see Note 1)
- 2 TBSP (14g) ground flaxseed meal
- 70 mL (~5 TBSP) warm water
- 6 oz (170g) 65% to 75% dark chocolate (see Note 2)
- 2 cups (250g) spooned and leveled all-purpose flour (see Note 3 for GF)
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¾ tsp baking soda (make sure it's fresh, see Note 4)
- ¾ cup (155g) organic dark brown sugar, tightly packed (see Note 5)
- ¼ cup + 2 TBSP (80g) organic cane sugar
- 1 TBSP (15 mL) pure vanilla extract (not imitation extract!)
- Flaky sea salt for finishing
Instructions
- Brown the butter first, as it needs time to cool: Add sliced butter to a stainless steel or light-colored skillet or saucepan. Turn to medium heat. Swirl the pan or stir with a silicone spatula occasionally until melted, foamy, and at a bubble (~ 2 ½ to 3 minutes).Heat for 2 to 3 more minutes, stirring frequently until nutty in aroma and slightly darker (it won't fully brown like dairy butter). Turn off the heat before it starts foaming up the sides of the pan.Immediately pour into a medium bowl to stop cooking, scraping out all of the butter from the pan with the spatula. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until no longer warm but still in liquid form (if the butter is warm, the cookie dough will be sticky).
- Line a large plate or mini sheet pan with parchment paper and place in the fridge to chill.
- Make the flax eggs. In a small bowl, combine the flaxseed meal with 70 mL warm water (this is ~ 5 heaped tablespoons).Whisk well to combine and rest for 15 minutes, whisking again halfway through and once more at the end of the 15 minutes.
- Coarsely chop the dark chocolate (some variation in small/large pieces is nice). Reserve 12 pieces of chopped chocolate to press into the top of each cookie.
- Dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda until well incorporated.
- Wet ingredients: Once the flax eggs have gelled and brown butter has cooled, add both to a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, cane sugar, and vanilla. Use an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined, gooey, and thick, about 30 seconds (or use a whisk and arm power for ~45 to 60 seconds).
- Combine: Remove the beaters and switch to a silicone spatula. Add half of the dry ingredients into the wet. Fold with a silicone spatula until just combined.Add the remaining dry ingredients and chopped chocolate (minus reserved 12 pieces for topping). Fold together just until no dry spots remain. If the folding becomes difficult, use your hands to finish the dough. NOTE: The dough should be thick but somewhat soft, not stodgy.
- Scoop out cookie dough rounds. Use a large cookie scoop to measure out ~72g per cookie dough round. OR, use a ¼ cup measuring cup: level off the top and use a small silicone spatula to get the dough out of the measuring cup.TIP: If the dough is too sticky to handle, refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, then shape.
- Chill the dough: Place the dough rounds on the lined plate from the fridge*, but no need to space them out right now. Press a piece of reserved chocolate into the top of each cookie.Refrigerate for 24 hours, or up to 72 hours. If short on time, chill for as long as you can (even 2 hours will give you a better cookie than baking immediately). *Once firm, you can transfer the dough balls to a ziploc bag and refrigerate.
- To bake: preheat the oven to 350ºF / 175ºC and arrange a rack in the center of the oven. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper, or you can leave it bare if your pan is well-worn and made of aluminum or nonstick (see Note 6).Add five or six cookie dough rounds, spacing them 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart, as they’ll spread quite a bit.
- Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and a bit set but still gooey and soft in the center (16 minutes if you prefer a slightly crispier edge). TIP: If the cookies have not spread much, lift the pan up by ~4 inches and bang it against the oven rack or your kitchen counter several times—this helps them spread a bit more.
- Finish: While still warm, sprinkle cookies with a little flaky sea salt.Cool in the pans for 10 minutes (5 minutes if lined with parchment), then transfer to a cooling rack to cool for 5 more minutes.
- Cool the pan and bake remaining cookies (or freeze dough to bake later).
Video
Chocolate Chip Cookies — literally the best I’ve ever had
Notes
- Since publishing this recipe, our favorite vegan butter (Violife) has been discontinued. That said, we've tested these with Earth Balance buttery sticks and they work great.
- Chopped dark chocolate bars = much better than choc chips. For more details & substitutions, check out the Ingredient Notes and Tips sections (tips #1 and #2).
- Check out the FAQ for gluten-free instructions.
- If the baking soda is not fresh, your cookies won't spread. Combine ¼ tsp baking soda + 2 tsp vinegar in a small bowl. If it doesn't fizz up immediately, it's no longer fresh.
- I love dark brown sugar b/c it has nearly double the molasses content, but light brown sugar still works well.
- Unlined sheet pans yield slightly crisper edges. But if your pan is new or not made of aluminum or nonstick, line the pan with parchment paper; otherwise, the cookies stick.
Nutrition
Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 24g | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg