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.
Hello,
I have just watched your YouTube video of this recipe. You mention adding cornstarch but it is not listed in the ingredients?
How much would I add? Thank you!
Oh I’m so sorry for the confusion!! It’s 1 tbsp 🙂 Enjoy!
When I say my jaw dropped when I made these today…I mean…MY JAW DROPPED. These are AMAZING.
So so happy to hear it 🙂 Thank you so much for this review!! Enjoy!
Hi! So I’ve made your recipe many, many times over the past few years. The cookie is delicious, even though it has ALWAYS sank in the middle, and spread a bit much.
I came looking for the recipe again so I could print a new one (my old one is getting raggedy), and I see you’ve changed the recipe a bit and added 100 grams of flour. I’m kind of excited because I’m thinking this has been my issue the entire time! I’d gone thru all the possibilities and switched things up to see what I could have done wrong, but nothing ever made a difference. The dough was always a little wet and sticky, which I thought was maybe a “me” error. Anywho, can’t wait to try the revamped recipe!!
Oh, and for some reason the brown sugar in grams does not change from 135g when I choose “2x” for the recipe. Everything else changes to reflect doubling the recipe, but not the brown sugar. Hopefully it’s an easy fix on your end.
Thanks so much!!
Oh I hope this helps!! I did further change the recipe because I wanted more consistent results for everyone!! Also that’s so weird, that’s definitely a recipe card glitch!! Thank you so much for flagging that, we’ll look into it! Let me know how this version goes for you 🙂 Eager to hear! thanks for the review!!
Hi, im Kharmell from Philippines. Just want to ask, whats the substitute for the yogurt? Thank you so much
Oh of course! You can use applesauce too!
I made these with gluten free flour and they needed probably 5 mins extra time. They were absolutely delicious!!!! Tastes like an OG subway cookie
This is awesome 🙂 WOW! Thank you so much for the review!! This is the best 🙂
Hello! I jus tried making these but they didn’t flatten out like yours. Do you think it’s because I used AP flour? The photos you have look so good, but mine kind of look like a biscuit, just slightly smaller.
Hi Cass! So sorry, just saw your comment! So this happens if you scooped too much flour (or did you change any other ingredients?)- all purpose flour is definitely not the issue because I use it here all the time! I’m guessing you used too much flour, which is easy to do if you aren’t using a kitchen scale!
Hi there, I absolutely looooove the recipe, however I’ve tried making it a few times recently and found that it hasn’t been working as well for me as the older recipe that I used around April-May 2024 and was wondering what the proportions of ingredients were (if you still had them). But honestly, 10/10 recipe and I have yet to have cookies (vegan or otherwise) as good!!
Hi Shri!! Oh I’m so sorry that this is happening to you!! Here is the recipe from then:
1 3/4 cup (230 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour , sifted and spoon & leveled*
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup (100 g) organic granulated sugar
3/4 cup (150 g) light brown sugar
1/3 cup (85 g) dairy free yogurt or unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (170 g) vegan chocolate chips*
Thank you so much!! I can’t wait to try it out!!
I had 4 gluten free vegan chocolate chip recipes to pick from that I’d saved but not tried. On a whim I decided to do another search and these came up. They looked so simple to make and the only change I made was to use white miso instead of the sea salt. WOW! 🤩 These were amazing! Made them this morning for our family gathering of 12 adults and 2 Kiddies and they were a hit with everyone. Highly recommend a quick refresh in the oven for a few minutes to get that just baked crispy edge. Thank you so much for this recipe, Britt, the yogurt is clearly an absolute game changer!
This is so awesome 🙂 WOW!! And using miso paste sounds AMAZING, I’m giong to need to try that!! Thank you for the review, enjoy!!
These were delightful! I made these for my cousins bday and they turned out great! I also reheated for 10 seconds and ate with ice cream and they were so good. I used chopped up vegan chocolate bars instead of chips and also added a lot more chocolate chunks because I like things extra chocolatey. I’m not a vegan but ate about 5 of them so far today, tasted just as good as a regular chocolate chip cookie to me! I also made them a little smaller and baked for 10 minutes.
How much flour? Recipe says 280 grams. I think your video says 180?
Thanks!
Oh that was the older video I’m so sorry for the confusion! The written recipe card is always the most up to date! 🙂
What kind of dairy free yogurt are you supposed to use?
You can use Kite Hill, Forager Project, or honestly one of your faves!
Delicious cookies! Soft inside and crispy outside! I’ve already made them 2 times and I will make them more for sure!
Omgsh!! This is AWESOME!! Thank you so much for the kind review!! ENJOY!
The best vegan cookies I’ve tried! I’ve tried tons of different cookies from vegan bakeries and this tops everyone, could be even the best cookie recipe overall, so good and so easy to do, with very simple ingredients!!
My husband came in and said “OMG THAT SMELLS SO GOOD!”
We haven’t tried it yet but I already know it’s going to be good. I only had becel plant sticks but I don’t think that affected the final result. i baked it for 16 minutes in my oven but I think 15 min would’ve been enough. Mine turned out egg shaped because I didn’t shape the dough tight enough and they toppled over mid bake, it’s actually kind of cute!
This is the FIRST recipe I’ve come across where I wasn’t left with a weird amount of dough that doesn’t equate to a serving. This recipe yield 15 (2 scoop) cookies for me.
Thank you Brit for this great recipe!
p.s. I currently have your molten small batch vegan brownie basque cheesecake that just came out of the oven. super stoked for that too!
Oh this is AWESOME!!! Thank you so much for the wonderful review! And AH cannot wait to hear what you think of the brownie cheesecake!! That’s one of my favorites 🙂
THE. BEST. CHOCOLATE. CHIP. COOKIES. EVERRR!!! 🍪 I have made this recipe multiple times and it continues to be a family favorite!
This is awesome 🙂 WOW!! Thank you so much for the kind words!! ENJOY!!
Hi! Making these now – can the dough be frozen? I want to make a double batch but I want it to be an activity with my toddler! To include him, it’d be nice to take the dough out of the freezer when we want to make cookies. Rather than just thawing cookies!
Hi Ellie, Yes! You can freeze the cookie dough. Sounds like that will be one happy toddler!
What temperature do we bake them at?
I often use 350. These cookies came out wonderful at that temperature when I tried it.
Hi Kacey, the cookies bake at 350!
Magic Woman!!! Delicious and frighteningly easy! Can we talk details? Which shelf in the oven do you bake on? Regular bake or convection? I cooked longer to get browning so mine are a bit crunchy/chewy – perfect for a glass of flaxmilk, mind ya, but I also love a gooey cookie sometimes too. I have found most veganized baked goods I do simply do not have that browning I was accustomed to getting. Any ideas? And lastly, do you think these would work as bars? Thank you!
I‘ve made tons of vegan chocolate chip cookies over the years but couldn’t find a recipe I was completely happy with and then almost gave up. And now I‘ve made these today and can officially say THEY‘RE PERFECT 😭😭💛 Thank you for the recipe!
I’ve made these several times now and despite the warning on the recipe I used Bobs red mill 1:1 this time and it turned out perfectly! not sure why author thought it would not but pleased to say it was not an issue 😁 best gf, vegan cookie recipe I’ve tried!
Oh I’m so happy it worked!! I haven’t used Bob’s in years because I had a few bad bags of it so I stopped recommending it. I may try it again!! Thanks for this!!
I made these, and wow are they good! I added walnuts and sprinkles (b/c I need fun), and they’re so yummy!
AMAZING! Oh I love that you added sprinkles 🙂 Sounds fantastic!!
These are wonderful, now I need to make them for 100 people for the soup kitchen. Help! I need to do this in bar form, will it work as is, or is there a modification I should do? Also, could I use shortening in place of the vegan butter (again, soup kitchen so nearly zero budget)? I would really appreciate any advice you might have. I am always up for trial and error (I am usually winging it anyway, don’t tell!), but some guidance on this great recipe would be most appreciated. Thank you!
So so happy you loved them!! Okay SO, shortening I wouldn’t recommend because they won’t spread as much, and it will also lack flavor unfortunately :/ so much flavor comes from the butter! There are definitely a bunch of different vegan butters on the market, BUT Miyoko Schinner just posted a quick and easy vegan butter recipe with a neutral oil, coconut oil, and dairy free milk (the base for most vegan butters, and you’ll find that everywhere on other blogs!), and her recipe would definitely work here! It’s on her instagram!!
Made your recipe for chocolate chip coolies. They did not spread out thin like your pictures.
Any suggestions what I did wrong?
Hi David! Oh I actually think these look quite spread and lovely!! How did the flavor turn out?
They were pretty good the first couple days but turned crumbly after that. got to eat them faster.
So sorry you found them crumbly!! Did you happen to use a kitchen scale?
Oh I LOVE it!! These are just fabulous, thank you for sharing!! They definitely spread a bit less when chilled overnight, but I personally love that! Also are you using a kitchen scale or cups? Using cups may have given them a bit more flour, which would also account for less spreading. But I think they look gorgeous, thank you for sharing!!
You know what, I think I did use cups for this one. I used the scale for the peanut butter cookies so that can explain how those turned out so well! I’ll chill them a little less next time (I legit tried 7 of your recipes in one day so I was tired by the time the dough was chilling 😄) and measure them out. But definitely think and delicious over all!!!
Oh that’s so good to know!! Okay yes, definitely try with the scale next time, I’d be curious to hear how they came out with the spreading or just chilling them a bit less if you’re still using cups! But this is just the best comment, oh my goodness- the best! Just made my day 🙂 Thank you so much for trusting me with your ingredients and time!! It’s the best compliment!!