Soft and Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

These super easy, one bowl, soft and chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies are out of this world delicious. Made in just twenty minutes with zero chill time, this simple recipe delivers the ooey, gooey, chocolatey cookie of your dreams.

Soft and chewy VEGAN chocolate chip cookies. Yes, you heard that right. This butter lovin’ baker turned her favorite classic chocolate chip cookie into the most heavenly butter free, egg free cookie of your dreeeaamzzzz! I’m not kidding around here friends. They’re so crazy good I’m willing to bet you have these ooey, gooey, soft and chewy golden brown beauts on repeat from the very first bite.

Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not a vegan nor do I have any plans to become a vegan. My daughter has dappled in being vegan. Neighbor down the street. Vegan. My old college roomie. Also vegan. I have lots of love for all of the vegan people in my life but I love butter {and eggs for that matter} far too much to ever part ways with it. That said, I can appreciate a good cookie when I see one. No matter the ingredients inside. You all have been asking for a vegan cookie here on the blog and you know I’m here to deliver. Your wish is my command and today your dreams are coming true in the form of this insanely delicious vegan chocolate chip cookie. And believe me when I say these one bowl, no chill, perfectly sweet, teensy bit salty vegan ccc’s are gonna give regular chocolate chippers a run for their money.

WHY ARE THESE VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES SO GOOD?

I’ve got a long list of reasons why these soft and chewy vegan chocolate chips cookies are the best ever. Not the least of which is that they are made in one bowl with just a handful of ingredients and zero chill time. Zero chill time are three of the most glorious words ever uttered to a girl with a cookie craving. You’re just twenty minutes away from freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with perfectly crispy edges, soft and chewy centers, and irresistible pools of melted dark chocolate.  There are no wacky ingredients, no egg replacers or hard to find substitutions. Just simple, whole food ingredients you can feel good about. You all know I’m a give-me-all-the-butter girl through and through but one bite of these vegan chocolate chippers and I’m like butter who?? These cookies are just too good to pass up and after what seems like a bazillion vegan baking fails, I’m sooooo excited to share this recipe with you. So let’s get to it.

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR THE BEST VEGAN COOKIES

These cookies come together quickly in just one bowl with only eight simple ingredients {plus salt}. There is not a single funky, how-do-i-pronounce-this ingredient to be found in these vegan chocolate chip cookies and I’m guessing you have everything you need right inside your pantry.

Flour. This recipe calls for both all purpose and bread flour. You’ll notice that a lot of my cookie recipes call for a mix of all purpose and bread flour and that’s because bread flour imparts a deliciously chewy, toothsome texture that I LOVE! Bread flour has the highest protein content of all the flours and by using a 50/50 mix of the two flours, the end result is a perfectly chewy cookie with crisp edges and soft, rounded center. I haven’t baked these cookies using gluten free flour but it should work just fine. If you try it, I’d love to know how they turn out!

Baking soda and baking powder. We use both baking soda and baking powder just like in a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Brown sugar. Brown sugar gives these vegan ccc’s a moist, tender texture and the perfect amount of sweetness in every bite. You can substitute organic coconut sugar in the recipe, just be sure to sift it as coconut sugar can be clumpy.

Coconut oil. Since we are ditching the butter we need to replace the fat with another source. Vegan butter is always an option but it can be harder to come by and I love baking with coconut oil. The flavor and texture of these vegan chocolate chip cookies can’t be beat. They are seriously irresistible and by using a refined coconut oil with a neutral scent and flavor, you won’t find any overpowering coconut flavor here.

Almond milk. The liquid helps to bring together the cookie dough which is a bit on the dry side. Soy milk, or if you aren’t fully vegan, cow’s milk, will work just as well. If the dough still seems too dry after adding all of the ingredients, add an additional tablespoon or two of almond milk to the dough for extra moisture.

Vanilla. Every good chocolate chip cookie recipe has a dash of vanilla for the perfect flavor.

Chocolate chips. Chocolate is naturally vegan packaged chocolate chips often have added milk in the ingredient list. You can opt to use chopped vegan chocolate from a bar or pick up a bag of vegan chocolate chips from brands like Enjoy Life or Hu Chocolate. I love a cookie with puddles of melted dark chocolate throughout so I’ve added a generous dose of chips in the recipe. Feel free to scale back on the chocolate if you like your dough to chocolate ratio to be a bit higher. Pro-tip: once you have scooped the cookie dough balls, place 3-4 extra chocolate chips on top of each scoop before baking. They will melt perfectly and ensure you get a bit of that luscious melted chocolate with every bite.

HOW TO BAKE SOFT AND CHEWY VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

When I set out to bake up the perfect classic vegan chocolate chip cookie, I knew they had to be crispy on the outside and soft, but chewy, on the inside. They had to be ever so slightly puffy – definately not flat or pancake like. These one bowl wonders are as low maintenance as it gets since there is no chilling time required.  Just mix, scoop, and bake. It’s that easy. The real trick is getting the baking time juuust right. Some ovens run hot and if you’re raising your hand in agreement you’ll need to play around a bit with the bake time. Don’t expect to nail it on the first try but when you do I think you’ll agree this butter-less chocolate chip cookie is everything you ever dreamed a vegan cookie would be. For best results, bake the cookies until the edges are a light, golden brown and the centers are still slightly under baked but not raw. The cookies will continue to bake as they rest on the cookie sheet. Once you’ve removed the cookies from the oven, allow them to cool on the pan for a good ten minutes or so to give them a chance to firm up a bit. I’m pretty sure it goes without saying, but these cookies are best served warm fresh from the oven {hello pools of melted chocolate!}.

CAN I FREEZE THESE COOKIES?

These soft and chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies take just five minutes to prep and they are certainly a worthy candidate for any cookie connoisseur’s freezer stash. For best results, mix together the dough and scoop the cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes until the dough has firmed up. Then transfer the cookie dough balls to a plastic bag and tuck them away in the freezer for a rainy day. When the cookie craving strikes, simply preheat your oven and bake the cookies straight from the freezer. You may need to add on an extra minute or two in the oven when baking off the frozen dough. As luck would have it, these cookies also freeze beautifully once baked so you can store your leftovers in the freezer instead of the cookie jar. Wrap the cookies tightly in plastic wrap and seal in a plastic bag. The cookies will keep for up to three months.

If it weren’t for you amazing people out there pushing me to try new things and experiment in the kitchen, these ridiculously delicious vegan chocolate chip cookies may never have come to be. Thank you for inspiring me with your requests and suggestions, your cravings, and your wish lists. I do what I do for you and I am so grateful that we can meet up in this space week after week to connect over all things sweet. If you make these cookies, tell me all about it! I hope you love them as much as I do.

Happy baking!

If you love these Soft and Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, you’ll also love…

Healthy Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Soft & Chewy Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten Free Almond Butter Bars

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies & Five Tips for Perfect Cookies Every Time

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