Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies – Vegan

Prepare to be popular because these bakery shelf-worthy chocolate chip cookies are universally loved by young and old! Both soft and crispy, vanilla scented and packed with chocolate chips – these gorgeous cookies are the definition of I-can’t-believe-they’re-vegan dreaminess! This is a bit of a cheat recipe – I simply adapted my previous recipe (here) for totally trad American cookies, which contained butter and eggs. When I first started making this version, I genuinely couldn’t tell the difference. And they are incredibly easy, too – no egg replacement involved here (unless you count a splash of non-dairy milk). The only drawback is one cookie is never enough! Also the raw cookie dough is so scrumptious you might find yourself just devouring it straight out of the mixing bowl. I judge thee not.
One of these with a cold glass of oat milk is my little girl’s idea of nirvana. Mine too.

You will need a large baking tray/sheet. I never line mine anymore – I just slide a big palette knife under the cookies shortly after they come out of the oven so that they don’t stick. If you don’t have a palette knife or you’re not sure of your tray’s non-stick abilities, line it with baking paper.

Makes 10 perfect cookies

140g vegan butter (I use foil-wrapped Stork)
50g soft light brown sugar
100g granulated white sugar
1 tbsp (15ml exactly) non-dairy milk – any kind
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
100g dark chocolate – either chop a bar into chunks or use chips (Sainsbury’s ones are great, they come in 100g bags and are located in the baking aisle). Whatever you’re using, just check milk isn’t listed in the ingredients.

 
Preheat the oven to 190c/375f/gas mark 5. Place the butter, both sugars, non-dairy milk and vanilla into a mixing bowl and cream together on the lowest speed, either using a paddle attachment on a mixer or an electric whisk. Or a wooden spoon! Stop when it looks smooth and creamy.

 
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Run the motor again on the lowest speed and add the flour mix one heaped tablespoon at a time into the buttery mixture. When you’ve added it all and the dough starts to clump, toss in the chocolate chips – reserving a tablespoon to push into the dough for extra chocolatey appeal just before they go into the oven. Mix for a few seconds longer until the chocolate looks evenly distributed.

This dough may appear slightly firmer and less sticky than a typical cookie dough containing eggs. This is intentional, as eggs not only act as a binder but they also have a drying effect. With an egg-free recipe (and cookies don’t really need eggs to bind them anyway) it helps to start with a slightly drier dough to help avoid excessive spread (ie very flat cookies).

Break off 10 equal sized chunks of dough (about the size of a large walnut, or approximately 58g if you’re absolutely crazy a perfectionist) and use your hands to lightly roll into balls.

I like to bake five cookies at a time. This way, they get plenty of space to spread out. Position the cookie balls as shown, allowing plenty of space around them. Randomly stud each cookie ball with a few of the reserved chocolate chips – these are the ones that will really show up and look oh so good once they’ve baked! Place the remaining five balls in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them.

Bake on the middle shelf for 12-14 minutes, depending on your oven. I give mine the full 14 minutes, but check after 12. They will not turn as deeply golden on the edges as you might expect from eggy cookies, but they shouldn’t look milky-pale either. They will firm up as they cool, so unless you want very crunchy, packet-type biscuits – good for dunking, but not quite what we’re after here – don’t over-bake them!

Allow them to cool on the tray for about five minutes before either running a palette knife under them then sliding them on to a cooling rack, or if you’ve used baking paper simply transfer to the rack once they’re cool enough to handle. Wipe down the tray and get on with the second batch of cookies!

Allow the cookies to cool completely (the chocolate chips will harden) before storing in a tub. They are best eaten within a couple of days, but they are fine for about five days (as if they are going to last that long?!) Warmed briefly and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, they also make a fantastic quick pudding!