Stay Healthy Vegan

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Chewy, 25 Minutes)

Chewy, golden-edged, and loaded with chocolate — these vegan chocolate chip cookies are made with vegan butter, flax egg, and both white and brown sugar. The higher proportion of brown sugar (which contains more moisture) is what creates the characteristic chew. The flax egg provides binding without the structure that a conventional egg gives — the result is a slightly thinner, chewier cookie, which most people actually prefer.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water (flax egg)
  • ½ cup (115 g) vegan butter, softened to room temperature
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated white sugar
  • ¾ cup (150 g) packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cups (225 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cups (255 g) vegan dark chocolate chips or chopped vegan dark chocolate

Method

  1. Make flax egg. Mix ground flaxseed with water; let rest 5 minutes until gel-like.
  2. Preheat oven. Set to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. Cream butter and sugars. Beat softened vegan butter with white and brown sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy. The creaming process incorporates air into the butter, which helps the cookies spread and lift slightly.
  4. Add flax egg and vanilla. Add the flax egg and vanilla extract. Beat until incorporated.
  5. Add dry ingredients. Add flour, baking soda, and salt to the wet mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined — don’t overmix.
  6. Fold in chocolate. Fold in chocolate chips with a spatula.
  7. Scoop. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches (5 cm) apart. The cookies spread during baking.
  8. Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes until the edges are golden and the centers look slightly underdone and soft. They will firm up as they cool.
  9. Underbake slightly. The most common mistake is overbaking. Pull them when the edges are set and the centers still look soft — this produces a chewy cookie. Fully cooked centers in the oven = crispy, dry cookies when cooled.
  10. Cool. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They continue cooking on the hot sheet.

Tips

Room temperature butter. Cold butter won’t cream properly. Leave vegan butter out for 30–60 minutes before baking.

More brown sugar than white. Brown sugar is hygroscopic (it attracts moisture), which produces chewier cookies. The ratio in this recipe (¾ cup brown to ½ cup white) is deliberately heavy on brown for chew.

Underbake. This is the most important instruction. A cookie that looks just barely done when it comes out of the oven will be perfectly chewy once cooled. A cookie that looks fully done in the oven will be hard and dry when cooled.

Bang the pan. After pulling from the oven, give the baking sheet one firm bang on the counter. This deflates the cookies slightly and produces a crinkled, bakery-style surface.

Variations

Sea salt: Sprinkle flaky sea salt on each cookie before baking. The salt-sweet contrast is excellent.

Brown butter style: Melt the vegan butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat, stirring until it smells nutty and turns golden (about 5–7 minutes). Cool completely (refrigerate 20 minutes), then use as you would softened butter. This adds a deep, caramel-like flavor.

Double chocolate: Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients for a chocolate dough with chocolate chips.

Oat chocolate chip: Replace ½ cup of flour with rolled oats for a chewier, oatier cookie.

FAQ

Why did my vegan cookies spread too much? Butter was too soft or melted, too much sugar relative to flour, or oven temperature was too low. Refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes before baking reduces spreading.

Can I refrigerate the dough? Yes — refrigerating for up to 3 days actually improves the cookies. Cold dough spreads less and produces a thicker, more complex-flavored cookie. You can also freeze portioned dough balls for up to 3 months — bake straight from frozen, adding 2–3 minutes.

For another vegan cookie recipe, see the vegan peanut butter cookies. Browse all vegan desserts at the desserts hub.