February 4, 2024

VEGAN Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I love a chocolate chip cookie. It is definitely in my top 3 for desserts. I’m just going to say it: not all cookies were created equally. For me, a big part of a chocolate chip cookie is in the texture. I want it to be chewy, a little bit crispy around the edge, not too thick, not too thin. Not cake-y or crunchy. I want them to be exactly what they were when I was growing up and my Mom would bake them.

For most of my life, I’ve just used my Mom’s recipe, which you can find here. The problem is, they’re not vegan. It’s the egg. To be honest, I kind of just cut cookies and a lot of other desserts out of my diet for that reason. Tell myself that it’s a great way to reduce my sugar intake and get my sweet tooth in check. That’s what I thought until I learned that one of my coworkers has a five year old daughter who is allergic to eggs. It made me think, I’ve also got a lot of friends who are lactose intolerant. Maybe there’s a group of people who would choose vegan options even if they don’t identify as vegan. People with allergies, religious dietary needs and vegans all look out for ‘off limits’ ingredients, and there is a lot of overlap. I want to be able to tell my friends that my cooking won’t bother their allergies, I want to be able to share cookies with kids who don’t always get to have the simple treats that I did as a kid. Vegan recipes, especially baking, can appeal to so many different people.

This recipe is the culmination of A LOT of trial and (mostly) error. I read a lot about how other people replace eggs in their baking. Tried many of them (flax eggs, aquafaba, banana, apple sauce) and I think I’ve finally found the thing that makes the cookies just as I remember them from my mom’s recipe, only vegan. Honestly, I ambushed a lot of people for feedback. You really can’t tell.

The Process

So, it turns out egg is actually a pretty heavy lifter when it comes to a lot of baking. It adds essential fats and acts as a binding agent for your sugars. It was not easy to replace. I tried:

Flax Egg– this didn’t have enough binding power, the cookies ended up spreading way too much and almost crystallizing. Not good enough.
Aquafaba– otherwise known as chickpea water. This can be very useful (especially since most people just dump it). It can be made into vegan meringues, which is on my list of things to try. But for the cookies, it just left them too dry.
Apple sauce– I’ve use this for cakes and brownies before, and I love it! But I think that’s because cakes and brownies allow for more moisture and are baked in a molded pan- needless to say, it didn’t work for cookies.
Bananas– The bananas were fine actually, in terms of texture. I love bananas but they have a very strong, distinct flavour, which I didn’t want in my cookies.
The Winner– I was about to give up, when I decided to try the flax egg again. But this time I added some corn starch (or corn flour) to the mixture to solve the binding issue. I almost started dancing when I saw how the cookies were baking in the oven- the spread was controlled and they looked just like my regular recipe. So, what I did was mixed 1 Tbsp flax meal with 2 ½ Tbsp water in a small bowl (whisk it together with a chopstick or something). Cream shortening and sugar, add milk, vanilla and flax egg and stir lightly. Then, mix in 2 tsp cornstarch. Finish with the rest of your dry ingredients. Note: I also baked these at a slightly lower heat than my regular chocolate chip cookies to prevent them from drying out.