Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe By Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. These are coconut oil and flaxseed meal egg cookies make with jumbo dark chocolate chunks with gooey centers. The cookies are big with crispy edges and chewy centers. The cookies are made with organic sugars and can be made gf with a one for one flour mix. This is a one bowl simple recipe that requires no rest time. Cookies can be made ahead and stored in the freezer. Find the recipe and how to for these dairy free treats on thewoodandspoon.com

First things first: I am not a vegan. I love butter more than the average bear and go through an ungodly amount of eggs each week. Give me heavy cream and regular ice cream any day, okay? But sometimes we want options. We want to share food with our health-concious friends and make desserts that those on diet restrictions can enjoy too. I started working on these vegan chocolate chip cookies for my sister who had been following a vegan diet for a few years. In a strange turn of events, she liberalized her diet right around the time that I finally nailed these cookies, but I’m thrilled either way because these cookies are the bomb. They’re just really good. Let me give you the scoop on them.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe By Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. These are coconut oil and flaxseed meal egg cookies make with jumbo dark chocolate chunks with gooey centers. The cookies are big with crispy edges and chewy centers. The cookies are made with organic sugars and can be made gf with a one for one flour mix. This is a one bowl simple recipe that requires no rest time. Cookies can be made ahead and stored in the freezer. Find the recipe and how to for these dairy free treats on thewoodandspoon.com

These vegan chocolate chip cookies are a coconut oil-based treat made with organic sugars, all-purpose flour, and dark vegan chocolate. A flaxseed egg (flaxseed meal mixed with a bit of water) holds the whole thing together to create a cookie that is chewy throughout and slightly caramel in flavor. In creating these cookies, I knew I wanted them to be adaptable for a number of scenarios, so I tested one million (well, more like 25) versions of these cookies to identify which were the most pleasing. I had several road bumps along the way, but I think I’ve ironed out enough of the wrinkles so that you can enjoy delicious vegan chocolate chip cookies in your own home kitchen.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe By Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. These are coconut oil and flaxseed meal egg cookies make with jumbo dark chocolate chunks with gooey centers. The cookies are big with crispy edges and chewy centers. The cookies are made with organic sugars and can be made gf with a one for one flour mix. This is a one bowl simple recipe that requires no rest time. Cookies can be made ahead and stored in the freezer. Find the recipe and how to for these dairy free treats on thewoodandspoon.com

Sugars

This recipe calls for organic sugar and organic brown sugar. You can use regular granulated and brown sugar, although you may find that your final cookie spreads differently than the ones pictured here. A lot of people are unaware that most processed sugars are not actually vegan, so organic sugars are your best bet if you want to stay on the safe side.

Fat

I chose coconut oil for this recipe because vegan butters are hard to come by in my local grocery store. It’s important to buy coconut oil that is solid at room temperature and not the liquid variety. I did not test this recipe with vegan butter or other plant-based fats, but if you try it let me know how they turn out!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe By Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. These are coconut oil and flaxseed meal egg cookies make with jumbo dark chocolate chunks with gooey centers. The cookies are big with crispy edges and chewy centers. The cookies are made with organic sugars and can be made gf with a one for one flour mix. This is a one bowl simple recipe that requires no rest time. Cookies can be made ahead and stored in the freezer. Find the recipe and how to for these dairy free treats on thewoodandspoon.com

Flour

I tested this recipe both with regular all-purpose flour and gluten free cup-for-cup flour. I noticed that the GF flour cookies were a bit thicker than the original recipe, but you may also notice differences from brand to brand. For reference, I typically use King Arthur Flours. I opted to not use alternative grains here, primarily because I wanted to create a cookie that tasted like a classic chocolate chipper.

Please note that even just a small change in the amount of flour can alter this dough. If you find that your cookies are consistently way too thick or a little dry, it could be that you need to add a tablespoon or two less flour. If they spread way too much, you may benefit from adding an extra tablespoon or two of flour the next time around. Every person measures flour differently, so for best results you may want to weigh your ingredients.

Chocolate

After quite a bit of research on vegan chocolate, I learned that some varieties of chocolate are “accidentally” vegan. Lindt baking bars and Trader Joe’s Pound Plus baking bars are two options for people not wanting to spend crazy dollars on fancy chocolate. I did find that the Lindt chocolate bubbled oddly on the tops of the cookies, but they still tasted terrific. I shot for 68-72% cacao chocolate, but you can use whatever works for you.

Please note that if you use chocolate chips, your final cookie will turn out differently. The chips are not meant to melt as easily as the baking bars; expect cookies that are thicker with less spread. One of the things I love about these cookies are the pools of chocolate on top. If you like this look too, chop up most of your chocolate into 1/4″-1/2″ pieces. Save a few larger 3/4″-1″ chunks to press on top of the cookie dough balls before baking. Just a little bit of chunky chocolate on top (or near the top!) of each ball should do the trick.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe By Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. These are coconut oil and flaxseed meal egg cookies make with jumbo dark chocolate chunks with gooey centers. The cookies are big with crispy edges and chewy centers. The cookies are made with organic sugars and can be made gf with a one for one flour mix. This is a one bowl simple recipe that requires no rest time. Cookies can be made ahead and stored in the freezer. Find the recipe and how to for these dairy free treats on thewoodandspoon.com

Temperature

This is the least predictable variable here. I almost lost sleep over these cookies due to problems with oven temp. Here’s the deal: in a super hot oven, the cookies will melt and spread like crazy, making little puddles of greasy dough with weirdly crispy edges. If you know your oven bakes hot, I’d encourage you to do a test run cookie and adjust the temp by 10 or so degrees as needed. If your cookie melts insanely, just notch the heat down and bake the rest at a slightly lower temperature. You can also chill your dough a bit, but I found that adjusting the heat was the best bet. For best results, use a heavy, non-insulated pan lined with a sheet of parchment paper.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe By Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. These are coconut oil and flaxseed meal egg cookies make with jumbo dark chocolate chunks with gooey centers. The cookies are big with crispy edges and chewy centers. The cookies are made with organic sugars and can be made gf with a one for one flour mix. This is a one bowl simple recipe that requires no rest time. Cookies can be made ahead and stored in the freezer. Find the recipe and how to for these dairy free treats on thewoodandspoon.com

Final Word

Just when I think I’ve figured baking out, something surprises me and I learn something new. If you have interesting results with these cookies, please tell me about it! We can troubleshoot issues or celebrate triumphs, because at the end of the day everyone learns a little bit more when they share their experience. So if you make these, tell me about it! I think you’ll love them, and I can’t wait to hear all about it. Happy baking, friends!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe By Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. These are coconut oil and flaxseed meal egg cookies make with jumbo dark chocolate chunks with gooey centers. The cookies are big with crispy edges and chewy centers. The cookies are made with organic sugars and can be made gf with a one for one flour mix. This is a one bowl simple recipe that requires no rest time. Cookies can be made ahead and stored in the freezer. Find the recipe and how to for these dairy free treats on thewoodandspoon.com

If you like these vegan chocolate chip cookies you should check out:

Vegan Coconut Lime Ice Cream Pie with Strawberries

Almost Paleo Coconut Almond Chocolate Cookies

Candied Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Flaxseed Bread

Print

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

These vegan chocolate chip cookies are a coconut oil based cookie made with a flaxseed meal egg, organic sugars, and vegan dark chocolate. Option for gluten free cookie is available as well. 

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 11

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • ½ cup (120 gm) coconut oil, firm not liquid
  • ¼ cup (50 gm) organic cane sugar
  • ½ cup (100 gm) organic brown sugar
  • 11/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 11/4 cups (160 gm) all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 ounces coarsely chopped (1/4-1/2″ pieces) semisweet or bittersweet vegan baking chocolate (see notes)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare one or two large baking sheets with a sheet of parchment paper.
  2. Combine the flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl and set aside for at least five minutes.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil, cane sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, beating on medium speed just until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the flaxseed mixture and beat just to combine. Add the flour, soda, baking powder, and salt and stir just to combine. Add the chopped chocolate and fold to combine.
  4. Scoop out large balls (I use a large cookie scoop or about 3 tablespoons) of dough and place them two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If you want large pools of chocolate on top of your cookies, make sure there are some larger chunks of chocolate close to the top of the cookie rounds. If you notice your dough is really soft and melty, place in the fridge or freezer to firm up, about 30 minutes. Bake in the preheated oven about 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown and set around the edges.

Notes

  • If you don’t have a problem with using regular granulated or brown sugar, you can substitute that here, however, most standard sugars are not truly vegan. I used Wholesome Cane and Brown Sugar for these cookies.
  • Be sure that your coconut oil is not liquidy or melted. This recipe was tested using solid coconut oil, although there were some small differences between brands.
  • If you choose to use chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips instead of large chopped chocolate, the shape of your cookie will differ. I prefer to pat my dough balls down a bit when using chocolate chips as they will not spread quite as much as with the large chunks.
  • You can substitute GF flour here, although the cookies may spread slightly differently. Test the baking out on one or two to verify that they will bake as you’d like. If they spread too much, refrigerate the dough, and if they stay more puffed than you’d like, slightly press down on the dough balls.
  • I use Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Baking bar which is accidentally vegan. If you don’t have a variety you love, standard chocolate can be used. Please read my tips above regarding chocolate chips vs. baking bars.

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99 thoughts on “Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies”

  1. Finally! A vegan cookie recipe that is just perfect! I made these today to take to my non-vegan family’s house and they loved them! I prefer chewy cookies and these did not disappoint, thanks to the flax egg! As a vegan, the last few cookie recipes I tried were not that great and I always ended up with dry, crumbly dough that was difficult to work with. It was not the case here! The dough was a perfect consistency and had enough moisture in it to be able to form the cookies easily! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I’m saving it to my bookmarks for the future!! 🙂

  2. Angila Snediker

    I used this recipe all the time a few years ago and always think about it. I have been trying to find it for months and finally did! Can’t wait to make these again. Thanks!

  3. I stumbled across this recipe while looking for a cookie recipe using flax eggs. I wanted to experiment with a cookie in the microwave and I’m not a vegan but didn’t want to mess with raw egg, and this fit the bill. So I made a batch of dough, except I was running low on coconut oil so did half margarine, and used regular chocolate chips. Instead of baking right away, I flash-froze the dough balls, and then tried one in the microwave, in a mug. 42 seconds later I had a perfect chocolate chip cookie. Amazing! Thank you!

  4. Oh, my gosh. Five star recipe for sure. It’s rare that I comment on things, but this one was a must. If you googled “vegan chocolate chip cookies” and aren’t sure, choose this one.

    I used gluten free flour, semi-sweet chocolate chunks, dark chocolate chips and subbed Earth Balance vegan butter for the coconut oil. I made a batch as-is and also added oatmeal to the second, and these are truly scrumptious. Well done and thank you.

  5. Asheley Candelario

    This recipe… wow.. i made these cookies for a girls night thingy and they came out great. I used a tiny bit less white sugar and a little more brown because I like them chewy. Also, I used country crock plant butter (softened) and it worked out great. I used 1 1/4 cups flour.

    (I made it twice because the first trial I shed coco oil and it melted a lot)

  6. Added chopped pecans and marshmallow. Incredible. Fantastic recipe. And EASY! These are life!!!

  7. Oh my gosh. So i ended up making this recipe as i wanted to try more vegan baking recipes and these are AMAZING. I did add a little too much flour, but put in another flax egg and it turned out perfect. I used the enjoy life semi-sweet chocolate chunks. These cookies bake completely flat in the oven at 15 minutes . Definitely adding this recipe to my cookbook. 🙂

  8. These are amazing, I also substituted applesauce for the flaxseed meal but still added a little bit of ground flax to make the cookies a bit healthier. Earth Balance organic vegan “butter” spread is also great instead of coconut oil.

  9. These are FANTASTIC!
    The texture is just mouth watering, soft, ooey gooey and not overly sweet.
    I already shared this recipe with someone else and I’m sure these would even be yummy without chocolate
    and just a sugar cookie if you were in the mood.
    Thanks!

  10. Amazing recipe I made it with vegan butter instead of the coconut oil, I myself love butter and the texture/taste it gives cookies are just wonderful lol I also used applesauce in place of the egg replacer and they came out really good, this is my for sure go to chocolate chip cookie recipe thank you!

    1. This is by far my favorite vegan cookie recipe! I use vegan butter instead of the coconut oil because it’s way cheaper and I like the texture better. The cookies even satisfy my dad who first was very sceptical about vegan baking. I always make them together with my brother and it has become a little tradition between both of us:)

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  14. These cookies are so tasty! I’ve made these so many times, I know the recipe by heart. It’s been a great hit with my friends (including non-vegan friends >: ] ). I like to use half coconut oil half vegan butter (I use earth balance). The only issue thing I would say is that they are kind of on the crumbly side. I usually just eat them off the plate or pan throughout the day but I am hesitant to give them to people as goodies as they will easily crumble in transit. But they’re so delicious~ thank you for sharing! Such a winner.

    1. Hi Rose! Thanks for the feedback. I totally hear you on this. I’ve had this happen with certain varieties of flour. I’d recommend decreasing the flour in your recipe by 2 Tablespoons and seeing how those bake! They are still fairly soft cookies so you may still have that problem, but it’s worth a shot! 🙂

  15. Really like the flavor and texture of these, but I’ve made this recipe twice, and both times the dough has been way too dry (I’ve had to add splashes of plant milk to make it workable). Wondering what the problem is, and if anyone else has this issue.

    1. Hi Jane! Did you try baking? The dough is SUPER dry. Like, really dry. Coconut oil melts more readily than butter, so I increase the dry ingredients to compensate for that. How you measure dry ingredients and even the variety of dry ingredients used in these cookies definitely makes a difference too. I found certain brands of flour made a dryer cookie than others. So if you find that those few splashes of plant milk yield a baked cookie you enjoy, you’re spot on! Water will work too, or you can decrease your flour by about 2 tablespoons. 🙂

    2. Same thing happened to me and the slap she’s of soy milk worked perfect. I wanted to batter to be gooey and it worked out really well. I also used spelt flour instead of white.

  16. I love vegan baking but hadn’t tried cookies yet and these are INCREDIBLE. I tried two different batches (one GF and one regular) and then both had a mixture of two different brands of chocolate chunks. Gotta say, the GF ones looked nicer but both were absolutely amazing. A keeper for sure. Great recipe!

  17. LITERALLY the BEST Choco chip recipe I’ve used since going 100% plant-based!!!! I patted mine down with a fork halfway through the baking time to make them thin and super crispy…just the way I LOVE them!! Thank you!!!

  18. I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy with how these turned out. I made them for my friend (non-vegan) and she looked up at me with a cookie in her mouth and said
    BRUH. Then in less than a second she picked up the tray and ran from the room. By the time she came back the tray was empty. I asked her where the cookies were and she pointed to her stomach and that was it….I burst out laughing. I didn’t even get to try them caue she ate them all. Next time i’ll remember to try them before inviting my taste testers

  19. I’m so happy I stumbled upon this—it’s the best vegan chocolate chip recipe I’ve ever tried! The first time I made it they did come out more fluffy and cake-like. I followed your suggestion to another reader to reduce the flour by 2 tbsp. and that worked! They still don’t spread like yours does in the pictures, but I flattened down the dough balls a bit before putting them in the oven and they spread just fine. My boyfriend can’t get enough! Thank you for this!!

    1. Hooray! I’m thrilled to hear this. Different flours and sugars and coconut oil will cause your cookies to spread differently. I had differently results everytime I switched even just the brand. Sigh. But I’m so glad you enjoy the flavor nonetheless. 🙂

        1. It’s hard to say as I’ve tried the recipe with both. The most important thing here is that your oil is solid! Not melty. 🙂

  20. That tells you… donwe really need eggs? Cows milk? No, I don’t think so.. I will give these a try!! I’ve had plenty of great vegan chocolate cookies.. let’s see if these stand the challenge!

    1. I use plenty of those items, but I love to find a little hack to make recipes suitable for people with other preferences! I hope you love these!!

  21. Not sure why, mine came out suuuper fluffy-even after baking them for over 20 minutes. Not a fan of fluffy cookies but I will try again. Any insight as to why mine may have turned out that way?

    1. by fluffy, do you mean thick and cake-like? If so, it sounds like the ratio of dry ingredient to liquid is off.try adding two tablespoons less of flour and see if that helps. I prefer to measure by weight so if you have a scale now is a good time to use it! 🙂

      1. Darn! I wish I read this comment and response before baking – my cookies came out cake-like, too. I guess I’ll have to make another batch with less flour. 🙂

  22. I made these incredible cookies for my vegan mother and aunt for our holiday cookie swap. They were so good, all the non-vegans gobbled them up! 😆 I sprinkled some Maldon sea salt on top of these to finish them up and yum yum yum!

  23. Hi Kate! I just found your blog from a Google search for vegan cookies. I made this recipe as a Christmas present for my vegan friends. And it is awesome! I am experimenting with Faba Butter so I used it 1:1 for the coconut oil. Perfection. I would never know they are vegan if I wasn’t told. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

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  25. Cherylyn Victorio

    Had to comment. Have been vegan for a year and have tried many different vegan chocolate chip cookie versions. These are my FAVORITE, hands down. Thank you!! *insert happy cookie dance*

  26. These are magic cookies! I made them for my vegan friend at a dinner at her parent’s house. Let’s just say her parents aren’t huge fans of her veganism and were skeptical of even these cookies, but after trying one of them, her mom just had to have another! They were a huge hit! A few weeks later, I brought some to a grieving friend’s house and got a note back requesting the recipe because these cookies were “basically being fought over.” It’s official: These are the greatest cookies of all time and are the key to World Peace. And they keep for over a week! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂

  27. Wow! These are amazing!! I’ve been vegan for 5 years and have been looking for a vegan chocolate chip recipe since then. Your recipe is it! I didn’t have brown sugar so just added a tablespoon of molasses and used Earth Balance butter since I didn’t have coconut oil. They came out great! Thank you so much for this, I’ll be making them for my daughter’s third birthday.

  28. First of all.. Veganism isn’t a diet, it’s a way of living, and if you go vegan for the right reasons (the animals, and seen the true horror of these industries, you don’t go back) too bad your sister stopped. 🙂

    1. I agree! that’s a better way of saying it. she still maintains an eating and healthcare regimen that is conscious of those values, but she allow it to liberalize on occasion. 🙂

    2. After 3 attempts at this recipe, I wasn’t sure if it would work out for me. Something just wasn’t quite right, they would spread way too much and I realised that coconut oil may not be the best option. I stayed hopeful as I could tell it was a good recipe. I substituted for a vegan block margarine alternative instead and I can safely say that my 4th attempt resulted in quite possibly the most delicious cookies I have ever tasted, vegan or not. They turned out perfectly chewy in the middle and crispy on the edges. This will be my GO TO recipe from now on! Thank you so much ☺️

  29. Wow! This tastes very similar to my non-vegan cookie recipe. Next time, I plan on adding some molasses to add some chewiness to the cookies.

  30. These are AMAZING. I baked these for my friend’s birthday, and everyone loved it. Felt like a celebrity with the cookies.
    Thanks for the awesome recipe!

  31. This is by far the best chocolate chip cookie i’ve had!! i love to bake and i’m vegan so i was sad when i couldn’t get a cookie i was happy with. that is until i found this. i also find that if you don’t like the flavor or greasy ness of coconut oil you can substitute it with vegan butter such as earth balance and it tastes amazing!!

  32. Made these for co-workers (one vegan, four non-vegans) and they all said it was the best cookie they’d ever had. Period. Thank you so much for sharing!

  33. I agree so much with your rationale for developing/posting this recipe. I have friends that question why I, a non-vegan, make so many vegan baked goods to accommodate my one vegan friend. It has always seemed obvious to me. We bake as a form of love – for our family, our friends. It seems only natural that from time to time, we extend this small kindness to those who follow alternative diets but love a warm, gooey, homemade cookie no less. Thanks for a wonderful-looking recipe.

  34. Catherine Smith

    Can’t wait to make these! And yes, everyone looks at me like I have 3 heads when I tell them that sugar isn’t necessarily vegan. I finally just had to quit talking about it. Thank you!! 🙂

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