Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies Happen to Be Vegan

We could eat 6,000 of these.

by:
May  8, 2019
18 Comments
Photo by Ty Mecham

Like most of my ideas worth sharing, these vegan chocolate chip cookies were born from a dessert craving at 7 a.m. on a weekday. A better-adjusted, more disciplined person might've assuaged it with a scone (and arrived at work on time).

But I got out my mixing bowls.

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Cookies for breakfast, I reasoned, should make a few ingredient concessions to appear moderately virtuous. I started with Ovenly's Genius recipe for vegan salted chocolate chip cookies, and tweaked it, trading neutral oil for olive oil (one of my favorite baking tricks for sweet-savory flavor), and swapping out white and brown sugar for maple syrup and coconut sugar to mirror my typical breakfast choices. I added a tiny bit of molasses to replace the brown sugar–flavor I missed from traditional chocolate chip cookies, and switched out chips for chunks, for bigger pools of melted chocolate.

The result was a chubbier, somewhat softer cookie than Ovenly's version, but delicious in its own right, with mellow notes of caramelly maple and savory, mild olive oil, perfectly balanced by the pinch of salt on top. In short, the ideal chocolate chip cookie for breakfast.

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Top Comment:
“If I put in less maple syrup, will it make the cookie less moist?”
— Lee
Comment

On my way out the door, I grabbed a few for my work bag—and they were great for lunch, too.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies With Maple & Olive Oil

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies With Maple & Olive Oil

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Ingredients

What's your favorite way to riff on chocolate chip cookies? Let us know in the comments.
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Ella Quittner

Written by: Ella Quittner

Ella Quittner is a contributing writer and the Absolute Best Tests columnist at Food52. She covers food, travel, wellness, lifestyle, home, novelty snacks, and internet-famous sandwiches. You can follow her on Instagram @equittner, or Twitter at @ellaquittner. She also develops recipes for Food52, and has a soft spot for all pasta, anything spicy, and salty chocolate things.

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18 Comments

Ferah S.
Ferah S. June 26, 2019
Is it really 1 tablespoon of salt? Or is that a typo for teaspoon
 
Kristy
Kristy May 30, 2019
Hi - have you tried making these with a gluten free flour? Any suggestions?
 
Ella Q.
Ella Q. May 30, 2019
Hi Kristy,

I have not, but would love to hear how it goes if you give it a try!
 
Sara
Sara May 31, 2019
I would try almond flour. I've done other chocolate chip cookie recipes substituting almond flour for the wheat flour and it comes out great. I always have to add walnuts because I grew up eating tollhouse chocolate chip cookies with walnuts. Now I also include orange peel which is delicious with the chocolate.
 
SuburbanTeacher
SuburbanTeacher May 19, 2019
Excellent! I reduced amount of choc chips and there were still more than enough. Will def make again.
 
Ella Q.
Ella Q. May 30, 2019
So glad you enjoyed!
 
Tastemaker V.
Tastemaker V. May 11, 2019
An even *better* baking trick is to sub pecan oil for olive oil. Good pecan oils (The Art of Pecan; Congaree & Penn; Oliver Farm) are naturally buttery and even healthier than olive oil. Avoid roasted or light colored pecan oil; those are usually made with inferior pecans.
 
Lee
Lee May 9, 2019
What is the best way to cut the sweetness of this recipe while retaining the texture? If I put in less maple syrup, will it make the cookie less moist?
 
Ella Q.
Ella Q. May 9, 2019
Hi Lee,

I haven't experimented with this! I would be curious to know what you learn if you try some reductions. :)

Ella
 
HalfPint
HalfPint May 8, 2019
My favorite add-ins to choc chip cookies are:

Bourbon
Coconut (unsweetened & flaked)
Ground coffee (sounds bizarre but it’s magical)
 
Ella Q.
Ella Q. May 9, 2019
Must try ground coffee. Coconut, too!
 
Lee
Lee May 9, 2019
second the ground coffee add! works wondoer in poundcakes too!
 
Ella Q.
Ella Q. May 9, 2019
Ooh! How fine are the grounds, and how much do you add for a single loaf cake?
 
Tracy
Tracy May 9, 2019
I add powdered espresso....delicious.
 
Nancy
Nancy May 10, 2019
Yes to the bourbon. But/and how does adding it to the recipe affect the cookies texture?
I might consider serving them as a dessert or snack with a milk-bourbon cocktail, or black coffee laced with bourbon.
 
Lee
Lee May 10, 2019
The finer the better. I even use instant coffee sometimes to make sure things doesn't turn up gritty. Like Tracy said below, powdered espresso would be great, especially for cakes. As for how much, that depends on your preference and the recipe... I would say 1-tsp for 1 cup of (finished) batter to see how you like it first.
Happy baking!
 
Emma L.
Emma L. May 8, 2019
I could eat 4,000 of these.
 
Ella Q.
Ella Q. May 8, 2019
Thanks Emma! They love spending time with you, too :)