BEST Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)

Super fudgy and rich vegan double chocolate chip cookies that taste like a brownie in cookie form! Stress-free baking and easy to make gluten free, these are the best vegan cookies ever and are a complete crowd pleaser, whether or not you’re vegan. Perfect for birthdays, graduations, Christmas cookies, holidays, and more!

Whether you’re a pro baker or just starting out in the vegan baking world, you’re going to absolutely LOVE these easy vegan double chocolate chip cookies. In fact, I’m pretty sure this will become your new favorite vegan cookie recipe (but definitely check out all of our vegan cookie recipes here!). Well, alongside my classic vegan chocolate chip cookies (a banana reader favorite!). 😉

That’s why this recipe even made it into my first cookbook.

I’m not even joking, these cookies are the epitome of soft, gooey, molten, and fudgy, yet maintain their form so well so that you’re not getting a chocolate mess everywhere (unless you’re 5, then I can’t help you there!).

But what’s more, you’d never know that these cookies are eggless, dairy free, and can be made gluten free undetectably as well. Plus, it’s such a simple and stress-free recipe, which means it’s perfect for kids to help with around the holidays (but be sure to try these over holiday inspired vegan chocolate cookie recipes too: vegan peppermint chocolate cookies and vegan hot cocoa cookies!).

Why you’ll love these easy vegan double chocolate cookies

First of all, it’s easy to love chocolate, but these cookies just wow me because it looks and tastes like a brownie in cookie form.

All while being completely dairy free, egg free, low in sugar (and refined sugar free!), and easily made gluten free. I mean, that’s quite a feat, little cookie!

Plus these double chocolate chip cookies make for the absolute best vegan Christmas cookies at a cookie exchange because a) it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t enjoy chocolate, and b) I guarantee you no one will have an A+ recipe like this one.

I mean, it’s just hard to find a fault in these cookies!

Unless you’re the Grinch. Or Scrooge.

Ingredients & Substitutions:

What I love most about these chocolate brownie cookies is how dang simple and easy they are. Seriously! With everything else going on during the holidays, the last thing you need to stress over is cookies.

Before we get into just how easy these vegan double chocolate chip cookies are to put together, let’s go over the ingredients.

For these cookies, you’ll need:

• Flour (or gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour): I love Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur’s for gluten-free flour and regular flour.
• Cocoa powder: because we need these to be extra chocolatey for vegan double chocolate chip cookies! I go over why we’re using all-natural cocoa powder over Dutch-processed and even cacao powder down below.
• Vegan butter: you can also swap in refined coconut oil, and it works absolutely perfectly because the applesauce will help add moisture back into the cookies. Using refined coconut oil instead of coconut oil will ensure that there isn’t a strong coconut flavor in the cookies.
• Brown sugar and granulated sugar: but you can also just use coconut sugar! Either way works. With granulated sugar, please be sure that it’s organic and vegan (the organic ones tend to be vegan, but double check).
• Applesauce: go for the unsweetened version for just apples! The applesauce will act as eggs in the cookies while also adding a bit of moisture back to these brownie cookies. You really won’t taste the applesauce flavor. I have tried these with ground flaxseed as well to create a flaxseed egg, and I don’t like how the cookies don’t really spread. Stick with applesauce! If you really don’t want to use applesauce though, you can use pumpkin puree.
• Chocolate chips (but of course!): I love using Pascha Organics for a vegan chocolate chip, but you can also use your favorite chocolate chip brand! I recommend vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips if you’re looking for a different chocolate chip to use.

A note on properly measuring ingredients:

Like with all recipes, it’s really crucial that you properly measuring your ingredients. Weighing your ingredients will give you the most accurate results.

A slight difference in method can drastically change how much of an ingredient you’re using and ultimately the result of your cookies. Take for instance the below photo.

The top cookie is properly measured ingredients. The second cookie below (smaller), uses actually MORE flour here. In fact, too much flour. This is because the flour has been scooped. I highly recommend you weigh your ingredients, but if you’re using cups, please spoon and level rather than scoop.

How to make vegan double chocolate chip cookies (overview)

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

As noted in the last section, it’s so important to measure out all of your ingredients properly. It also makes for even less stress when baking to measure out all ingredients before beginning. That way it’s a super stream-lined process!

But don’t worry- these vegan cookies are such a breeze to make. I just want to make sure they’re as easy as humanly possible for you! Makes vegan baking much more approachable 🙂

Here’s how to make these vegan double chocolate chip cookies:

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients. This is your flour, cocoa powder, and leavening agents.
2. Then, cream together the vegan butter and sugars with a hand mixer. Once creamed together for a few minutes, you’ll add in the applesauce as well.
3. Fold in the dry ingredients. It’s important to use a rubber spatula, and fold just before all of the dry ingredients are mixed. Here’s why in the next step!
4. Add in the chocolate chips and chunks, and fold together. By adding in the chocolate chips right before the flour is completely mixed, you avoid over mixing the flour. Even gluten free flour can be too gummy from being over mixed! Use a little dairy free milk here if needed.
5. Chill the dough. You’ll only need to chill the dough for 10 minutes before baking!
6. Scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat, and bake! I use a medium cookie scoop. I bake these cookies for exactly 12 minutes. Then I lightly tap the pan on the table 2-3x (called the pan-banging method!) to get them a little less puffy. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes, then enjoy!

What is the pan-banging method?

So for these double chocolate chip cookies, we’ll be using the pan-banging method, but slightly modified.

Essentially, once the cookies have fully baked, remove the pan from the oven and tap the pan onto the countertop a few times (I do about 1-2 times) to flatten the cookies.

This will help create that brownie-look to these chocolate cookies. You don’t have to do this step, as these cookies will spread enough on their own, but this is just if you want the look of a brownie appearance as well!

Then you’re done! How easy is that?! The hardest part is probably letting them cool, I’ll be honest!

The perfect vegan cookies for a cookie exchange

These are one of my favorite vegan cookies for cookie exchanges for a few reasons.

• They’re classic without being overdone. Don’t get me wrong, I love gingerbread cookies, especially my vegan gingerbread cookies, as much as the next person, but chances are, there will be a few gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, and thumbprint cookies at the exchange. These vegan brownie cookies are perfectly classic and chances are no one will make them like this!
• Everyone loves chocolate. Except for maybe someone who’s allergic to chocolate, which I’ve come across a few so far, but for the most part, chocolate is a safe bet for a happy tummy!
• These vegan double chocolate chip cookies are completely dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free, and can easily be made 100% gluten free, making them a great allergy-friendly Christmas cookie.
• Making these vegan chocolate brownie cookies doesn’t take much effort. Like at all! All you need to do is make the dough, bake the cookies, and wait for them to cool! No decorating, no fancy lattice, no secondary component that just made these a whole lot more difficult…these are some of my favorite easy Christmas cookies!

You are just going to absolutely love these easy vegan double chocolate chip cookies!

If you make these cookies, let me know down below in the comments section! And as always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations, so make sure to tag me on Instagram and Pinterest so that I can see!

Happy cookie baking!

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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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