The Best (Vegan) Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello, hello!

I hope your morning is off to a great start. Since we normally talk food on Wednesdays, I thought it would be appropriate to share one of my new favorite recipes today. You might need to prepare yourself because… well, these are crazy addicting. I (sort of) apologize in advance.

I got the itch to bake on Saturday and wanted to create a cookie that our friend visiting us could enjoy, too. He’s a vegan, and he helped me with some of the substitution ideas to make the chocolate chip cookies vegan-friendly. The results are too good not to share with you.

These cookies are free of dairy and eggs, but are full of flavor!

The recipe you see below will make between one to two dozen cookies, depending on your cookie size. That’s just enough for you and your family to enjoy for dessert after dinner, so if you’re planning on taking them to a party or work function, you might want to double (or triple) it!

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup earth balance (vegan butter)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips or carob chips (I like Enjoy Life baking chips)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

 

servings: about 18 cookies (1-2 dozen, depending on cookie size)

 

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°F. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, (vegan) butter, vanilla, and coconut oil with a spoon.

2. Stir in baking soda and flour (dough will be stiff). Stir in pecans, chocolate chips, and coconut shreds.

3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.

4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown. The center of the cookies will still be soft. Cool for about 2 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack.

 

When making the cookie batter, make sure to add the pecans, chocolate chips, and coconut shreds at the very end. Adding them before the baking soda and flour will completely change the consistency! (I learned that the hard way.)

I ended up making three batches of these so I could share them with friends, and everyone who tried them couldn’t believe that they were vegan. I totally went out on a limb to try coconut oil in substitution for the eggs, and the results couldn’t have been better. They were so delicious!

Once placed on the baking sheets (no need to grease them), the cookies stay pretty true to form. There’s no need to space them out more than a few inches away from each other, since they only slightly expand when baking.

The whole recipe (including prep and bake time) only takes about a half an hour!

Since the cookies I made over the weekend have disappeared, I’m tempted to get back in the kitchen and make another couple batches. I told you… they’re addicting.

A true test to all my recipes is to see if Scott likes it. He’s always honest in his reviews, and I’m happy to report that he couldn’t stop eating them either!

I had never thought of putting pecans and coconut shavings in my chocolate chip cookies before, and I’m pretty sure those two ingredients are what make this recipe stand out as the best.

If you don’t believe me, give them a try for yourself. A true vegan win!

Enjoy!

Questions of the Day

• What’s in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe?

• What are some of your go-to substitutions for vegan-friendly baking?

 

I could have also used applesauce (you would need 1/4 cup per batch for this recipe) instead of the coconut oil for the eggs, but we didn’t have any on hand. I’d be interested to see if the consistency changed. Making them with the recipe you see above left them crispy on the outside, but still fluffy and soft on the inside. Love it!