Chewy & Soft Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Better Than Tollhouse!)
These are the best vegan chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever make thanks to using dairy free yogurt as the vegan egg replacement!! Chewy edges and soft, warm molten middles studded with melty chocolate chips. Easy to make with ingredients you probably already have, absolutely no one will know these cookies are vegan, no dairy and no eggs!
Reader Review:
Why you need to try my vegan chocolate chip cookies:
These vegan chocolate chip cookies should just be labelled as the best chocolate chip cookies. Because they’re not amazing for being vegan. They’re amazing. Period. Not flat, like other vegan cookies, not too puffy, just right chewy edges with soft, warm molten centers.
It’s the top vegan cookie recipe on my blog (along with these amazing vegan double chocolate chip cookies, which made it into my first cookbook!) and is the base cookie dough I use for all of my cookies.
Every time I make these, no one believes me that these cookies are dairy free and eggless because of our secret ingredient: dairy free yogurt. The absolute best vegan egg replacement to exist for cookies. The result is identical to eggs, it’s uncanny.
I swear this is what makes them taste like Tollhouse cookies: crispy, chewy edges with a molten, SOFT center. Ugh, YUM. In fact, the dough is so good, I even used it to create my edible vegan cookie dough recipe!
And did I mention, it’s easier than traditional cookies?? 😉 Just a bowl and a whisk is needed- no fancy equipment nor methods!
My latest video:
Key ingredients I chose when making this recipe:
- Vegan butter: Some vegan cookie recipes on the internet suggest coconut oil, but I’m not a fan of this. This is because coconut oil is 100% fat, whereas traditional dairy butter is about 80-82%. That means the rest is water, which adds moisture. KEY. The more fat you have, the “shorter” the cookie (think shortbread: crumbly), but we want soft and chewy, so coconut oil just doesn’t work here. That’s why I recommend Miyoko’s. But if you’re nut free, I believe the second best option is Plant Crock.
- Dairy-free yogurt: the secret ingredient to making these vegan cookies irresistibly gooey and perfect! It might sound weird to make vegan chocolate chip cookies with yogurt, but trust me this is the key (check out my vegan egg replacements guide here for more on that).
- Vegan Chocolate chips: The chocolate you use in your CHOCOLATE chip cookie matters! My go-to combination is (because yes, I use more than one chip, that’s how you get the good flavor!!): Enjoy Life dairy free “milk” chocolate chip with Valrhona Oriado chocolate feves OR Endangered Species 70% sea salt chocolate (the sea salt is GOOD my friends). Other brands that work are Guittard, Hu Kitchen, and Pascha (though sometimes, I think some of the flavors of Pascah are a bit “earthy” tasting). Lily’s won’t really melt that well so I don’t really opt for these.
Figuring out baking time for this cookie recipe:
A trick I learned years ago is to use the baking time of cookies more as guidelines for the literal recipe you’re baking in the moment. Why? Because honestly, every oven is a bit different. In my oven, I’m baking this cookie recipe for 14 minutes. This same recipe bakes for 16 minutes in my mom’s oven because it’s 30 years old, isn’t QUITE 350F when set, and it’s just different.
I always look for the doneness in the edges of the cookie. Look for the crisp slightly golden brown edges, and allow your cookies to rest after removing them from the oven.
You are just going to LOVE these vegan chocolate chip cookies. They’re seriously just so easy to make, and an absolute crowd pleaser for both kids and adults.
Enjoy, and happy baking!
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Chewy & Soft Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Better Than Tollhouse!)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These are the best vegan chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever make!! Chewy edges and soft, molten middles studded with melty chocolate chips. Easy to make with ingredients you probably already have, absolutely no one will know these cookies are vegan, no dairy and no eggs thanks to our secret and simple ingredient!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour , sifted and spoon & leveled*
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2/3 cup (150 g) salted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2/3 cup (135 g) light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) organic granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (85 g) dairy free yogurt or unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170 g) vegan chocolate chips* (semi-sweet or your choice!)
Instructions
- Prep: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and measure out all ingredients.
- Whisk: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the vegan butter, sugar, brown sugar, dairy free yogurt, and vanilla. Then add in the flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold together. Stop just before all of the flour is mixed in.
- Add in the chocolate chips: Fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Chill: Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes, but preferably 2 hours. The longer, the better, as the flavor will develop even more. When the dough is nearly done chilling, preheat the oven to 350F.
- Bake: Using a cookie scoop, and roll about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie for regular sized cookies, or 3 tablespoons of dough for large cookies onto the sheet. Place into oven and bake for 10-12 minutes (my oven, I bake them exactly 11 minutes each time for large cookies) or until the edges are lightly golden and are “set.” The middles shouldn’t be dough-y looking, but if they’re still soft, that’s perfectly fine.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. This allows the cookies to firm up to hold together.
- Enjoy: Sprinkle with extra sea salt and enjoy! Store these cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days, a week in the fridge, or a month in the freezer.
Notes
Gluten free: I really only recommend using King Arthur Measure-for-Measure Gluten Free Flour or a similar blend with xanthan gum that also weighs 125 g per cup. Please note that Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF Flour will NOT work here.
Baking times: baking times will vary based on your kitchen and oven temperatures. Be sure to watch your cookies and bake according to your own oven. Read my tips in the post for how to ensure your cookies are done.
Vegan Chocolate Chips: I recommend Enjoy Life and some of the Valrhona feves are naturally dairy free and vegan (like the Oriado blend- my favorite!).
- Room temperature: Store the cookies at room temperature on a plate and wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container. They’ll last for about 5 days at room temperature.
- Fridge: Store the cookies in an airtight container (this will keep them from drying out). They’ll last for about 7-8 days, depending on how cold your fridge is.
- Freezer: Store them in a plastic airtight bag or container for up to 3 months.
This is my families FAVORITE cookie recipe. We have tried at least 10 other recipes that just aren’t what you’re looking for when looking for that soft gooey chocolate chip goodness. These are what you wish you were eating when you bought a batch of soft cookies from the store only to be disappointed. These are a staple in my household now!! Absolutely delicious. Soft. Gooey. Melt in your mouth goodness!! I make them for my extended family and neighbors! Absolutely fantastic.
First time I made these cookies they came out so gooey and delicious! I’m chilling my dough not for the second time & I used 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1/4 cup of cocoa powder for extra chocolateyness. Hopefully they turn out just as delicious!
These were the BEST vegan cookies I have ever made. I have tried so many recipes and they always turn out cakey and I wanted more of a chewy texture. These were perfect. like insane. so good.
Oh this is so lovely 🥹So glad you loved!! Thanks so much for the review!! Enjoy 🙂
Hello! recipe looks awesome, can’t wait to try it.
Quick question on the flour – the video says 180g and in the comments i also saw 210g, but the recipe says 230g… which one is it? Thanks!
Hi Roshni! SO sorry for the confusion- it’s 230 g! I updated the recipe recently, so the video is a bit out of date. So sorry!
BEST chocolate chip cookies ever!!! These are so delicious. I used mini chocolate chips and it was perfection.
YAYA oh I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Enjoy!!
These tasted amazing but they were super cake like and fluffy, nothing like a cookie and I’m pretty sure I did something wrong 🙁 i used coconut sugar and the GF flour from the notes, as well as apple sauce. Any insight? 😭 I’ll definitely try this again though.
Hi Ingrid! Oh no! Okay so first thing, which gluten free flour did you use, AND did you use a scale or cups? Sometimes with cups, it’s easy to over measure, which would result in a more cake-like cookie!
Made these a couple days ago, so much better than store bought! Made gf with bobs 1 to 1, but I would suggest something with less rice for a softer less puffy cookie… still delish!
These are amazing. easy to make, bake and eat. I have made many vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes, this one beats them all.
This is so awesome!! Thank you so much!!
Amazing! we’ve made them three times in the last week, no substitutions and they have always turned out beautifully
This is so wonderful!! Seriously THANK YOU!! <3
Absolutely delicious!! Just made a batch for some friends and they are gonna love ‘em and not even know they are vegan. You are a vegan baker genius.
You just made my day!! THANK YOU!! Enjoy 🙂
I tried so many vegan chocolate chip cookies and this recipe is the best! Thank you a ton!
You’re making my day!! Seriously thank you 🙂 So glad you loved them too!! I make them weekly, I’m a bit obsessed 😂 Thank you again!!
Ah, I see, good to know that cassava flour is tricky in this respect! I live in Germany and it seems KA is not available in Germany, otherwise I gladly would have used it. I definitely will have a look at your oat flour cookie! Thanks a lot for sharing your expertise and helping beginners like me, much appreciated! 🙂
Absolutely!! I’m always here to help, so sorry that cassava flour won’t work here! The oat flour cookies are really very good, one of my favorites, and I make them all the time for my husband who’s gluten free too 🙂 Enjoy!
Thanks again, BTW, I forget to mention: I live in Berlin!! 🙂
No way!! That’s too funny!! Nice synchronicity 🙂 I visited once before, I love the art scene there!
Hi, first time ever that I tried to make cookies. So far, I had two tries. It was not a disaster, but the outcome could be greatly improved, I am sure… 🙂
The dough before putting it in the fridge looks pretty good to me, but after the fridge — when I try to process it — it is too crumbly. Also, the dough does spread very little in the oven — I squish the balls down after 6 minutes or so and the result in the end looks a bit like burger patties. Using less salt and adding some more margarine did help to make the dough less crumbly, but it did help very little with the spreading. Perhaps you have a suggestion what I can try next to improve the dough?…
Perhaps my problems are caused by one of the following?
– I use 100% cassava flour
– I use the minimum amount of sugar that you recommend
– I use only 80g of 100% chocolate (premium chocolate bar)
Hi Holger! So the problem is with the flour- I don’t recommend using cassava flour! In fact, I only specify using a gluten free flour blend, like King Arthur Measure for Measure, because it contains xanthan gum. Cassava flour absorbs way more liquid, and will result in a dry and not spread-able cookie. Even increasing the wet ingredients doesn’t help because honestly, you’d have to make a whole separate recipe for a cookie using cassava flour! I recommend using a GF flour blend, or you can try my oat flour cookies too!
Did you change the recipe recently?
Hi Elissa! Yes, I slightly improved it to be even easier! 🙂
Hello! Can I use refined coconut oil instead of vegan butter? thank you
Yes you can! The cookies won’t spread as much, but they’re still going to taste delicious!