The BEST Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my favourite things to bake is chocolate chip cookies. They are the perfect comfort food, easy to make and everyone loves them. Some people make very basic versions but I’m a bit of a snob and have researched chocolate chip cookies extensively to create the perfect cookie. Sometimes I brown the butter, sometimes I just use softened butter. I make almost a rustic version and have for years made this recipe by Elizabeth Falkner my own. They are in my opinion perfect chocolate chip cookies. I tend to use dark chocolate and finish them with a sprinkle of sea salt. I’ve tried various versions over the years and this is the recipe I come back to time and time again as a chocolate chip cookie snob. It’s the perfect blend of butter, brown sugar and has a healthy amount of chocolate.

But recently, I’ve decided to perfect vegan baking. As I’ve said before, my mom is vegan and she loves to sample my baked goods. I also tend to eat probably about 90% vegan these days so vegan baking was the next step. Now just because it’s vegan doesn’t automatically mean it’s healthy. Vegan baking to me doesn’t equal gluten free or using black beans in my sweets. My idea of vegan baking is still decadent and delicious, not weird and super healthy. After all, baked goods are meant to be a treat. Mind you, I do make healthy vegan baked goods from time to time.

Enter this recipe. These are some of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had and are eerily similar to my go to recipe. They brown up nicely, have great chew, tons of chocolate chips and are finished with sea salt. You wouldn’t know they are vegan and that my friends is my ultimate goal in vegan baking. I used Ghiradelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips. They were more like discs and melt beautifully in the cookies, giving more chocolate. The original recipe is from Spoon University but I’ve tweaked it a bit for my own tastes.

The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes 36
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks softened vegan butter (Earth Balance is great)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips or vegan semi-sweet
 
Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Beat butter and sugars together in a stand mixer on medium high for two minutes until pale.
3. Add in vanilla and water and mix until combined. Mixture will look a bit curdled.
4. Slowly mix in baking soda, salt and flour until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
6. Chill dough in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes. Once chilled, scoop out onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper using a small ice cream scoop, tablespoon sized. If you don’t have one, a small spoon is fine to scoop out the dough.
7. Sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt on each cookie and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. I bake them for the full 12 minutes to give a crispy but chewy texture.
8. Let the cookies cool on the pan for ten minutes then transfer to a wire rack.
9. Enjoy!