Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
112 Comments
Updated Jun 13, 2021
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These are the best vegan chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had (and made). They’re soft on the inside, have crispy edges, and flatten into the most perfect little cookies in the oven.
You guys. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about chocolate chip cookies in a long time. And I mean gluten-free, paleo, vegan chocolate chip cookies that actually taste like the real deal, classic, chewy chocolate chip cookies. If you’ve done any amount of gluten-free, grain-free baking then you’re probably familiar with how most “dietary restricted” cookies turn out – thick, dry, chunky and crumbly. Not exactly mouth watering, eh?
So I set out to create the best chocolate chip cookies that met all my dietary needs – and then some! Now, I’ll be honest, this winner of a recipe took three tries. I had several fails, which I Snapchatted along the way (because fails are always funnier when you share them – ha!).
But once this version was baking in the oven I knew it was gonna be a winner. How so? Because it flattened all on it’s own. It didn’t take any manual, finger-smooshing flattening…it melted into the most golden, gooey, sweet, chocolate chip cookie – effortlessly in the oven. Winner winner.
What I love most about this cookie is that it’s crispy and golden on the edges, but soft and chewy on the inside. It’s the best of both worlds…and it’s highly addictive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. In fact, I think I’ll be taking a stash of these cookies on my Portugal trip with me in three weeks for the perfect sweet treat at 35,000 ft!
The key to this cookie is creaming the palm shortening, coconut milk, vanilla and coconut sugar together. Then, adding your dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients. The dough will be quite sticky and tacky as you mound the cookies on your parchment paper, but trust me, that’s a good thing. I tried two versions of this recipe with honey, which didn’t turn out, and one version with not enough liquid/fat, which also didn’t turn out (read: it was a hockey puck). Thankfully, my dad is more than happy to eat my recipe fails, which makes me feel better as I used up a ton of expensive almond flour!
But life is about sticking with it…so I didn’t give up. And in the end, I’m so glad I did…because now I have the best chocolate chip cookies to munch on.
For more gluten-free and paleo cookie recipes, make sure to check out my Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, No Bake Cookies, Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies, Flourless Almond Butter Cookies and Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies.
Enjoy!
If you make this, I’d love to see! Tag your photo with #downshiftology on Instagram.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Description
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup organic palm shortening or vegan butter (don't use coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk, (shake the can to mix)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Place the shortening, coconut sugar, coconut milk and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer to blend all ingredients together until creamy.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for one minute, until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop heaping tablespoons of dough, evenly spaced. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are turning golden brown. (Note: if the cookies haven't flattened all the way, gently tap the baking sheet on your counter as soon as you remove them from the oven and they'll flatten).
Nutrition
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Delicious! And a perfect combo for me (gluten free) and my kids, who want to eat the dough before it’s baked.
Hi Jessica – Happy to hear you and the kiddos enjoyed this cookie recipe!
Hi Lisa, made these cookies last night and we loved them. Used ghee and they came out great. I make your salmon cakes, mayonnaise and hummus all the time. Love your videos.
Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed these chocolate chip cookies :)
Goodness. I was blown away by these! I got into a terrible habit during the end of my first pregnancy of whipping up my mom’s homemade chocolate chip cookies almost every week. I finally kicked the habit but was searching for a healthier version to try out (but had very low hopes any paleo/gf version would deliver). These are perfection! Chocolatey goodness without all the bad!
Happy to hear you’ve found a winning chocolate treat!
Hi Lisa,
I love all of your recipes, they all turn out amazing and you can tell they are tried and true.
I was about to try your chocolate chip cookie recipe and noticed that the cookies have 25g of fat.
Is that for one cookie? Can you please confirm, thanks.
Hi Chris – Yes, the nutritional information will always be per serving.
Is it possible to replace the palm shortening with something else, like Butter or coconut oil?
Hi Taryn – you could use butter in this recipe.