Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Super quick, super tasty and super irresistible. You’ll want to keep these chocolate chip cookies close, even if you’re the only vegan home.

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 10-12 mins | Serves: 8 

There are few scents as familiar and alluring as freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and few foods that evoke such heart-warming memories. Whether that’s mixing up a batch with your Grandma, licking the bowl clean or putting out a plate for Santa on Christmas Eve. Chocolate chip cookies are a timeless classic that no one should go without. 

That’s why we set out to crack the vegan cookie code with the help of Melbourne’s Tivoli Road Baker and much-loved pastry chef, Michael James. And boy, have we delivered! These golden gems have a soft, chewy centre loaded with chocolate chips and a crusty outer coating that delivers a satisfying crunch. Cornstarch is the secret to their ultra-soft consistency, while the combination of cane and coconut sugar is behind their moist, chewy texture.

If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply substitute your favourite gluten-free blend and add a pinch of xanthan gum. Alternatively, mix up your own blend by combining 1 ½ cups brown rice flour, ½ cup potato starch, ¼ cup white rice flour, and ¼ cup tapioca flour. This combination works well as 1:1 substitute for plain flour.

Tip: Refrigerating the cookie dough for ten minutes before you bake will help create thick, plump cookies.

Ingredients

• 30ml coconut oil
• 30ml Almo Crème
• 75g organic coconut sugar
• 2 tbsp organic unrefined cane sugar, such as panela
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
• 1 tbsp Almo MIlk
• 100g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tbsp cornflour (or arrowroot powder) 
• 80g vegan dark chocolate, broken into chunks

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190 °C and line a baking tray (25 x 16 x 3cm) with baking paper. Combine Almo Crème, coconut oil, cane sugar and coconut sugar in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add Almo Milk and vanilla and whisk to combine.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and arrowroot powder over the wet mixture and stir well to combine. Then add chocolate chunks and stir once more. Divide the dough into eight portions and roll each into a ball before placing them on the baking tray, evenly spaced apart. Flatten very slightly. 
3. Bake briefly for 10-12 minutes until pale golden. If you want soft, chewy cookies, be careful not to overbake. They will firm up as they cool down. Leave to cool on the tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. You can enjoy straight out of the oven or store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.