A delicious, plant-based cookie loaded with dark chocolate chunks? I’m so in. These cookies are undetectably vegan, which means they’re good. It took me a few attempts to nail a vegan cookie that is thick, soft, and delicious. I found vegan butter to lend too much of a flavor I wasn’t fond of, and a cookie with all coconut oil was a little crispier than I wanted. But with a mix of olive oil and a bit of coconut oil, the texture of these cookies is perfect!
This recipe calls for two kinds of sugar to make them a little on the healthier side (as coconut sugar is less likely to spike your blood sugar as high as white sugar, honey, or maple syrup). I added a bit of brown sugar to add moisture and flavor to these cookies. The molasses in the brown sugar adds so much to these cookies!
The dough requires no refrigeration (hello, quick cookies!!), but I found that it was best to let the dough balls rest for a few minutes after hand rolling them. This allowed the coconut oil (which melts in our hands) to re-solidify a bit before baking, creating a more even bake amongst all the cookies. But if you’re using a cookie scoop instead of the scoop and roll method, you can bake these babies right away! Just preheat your oven at the start of your mixing.
Some of the ingredients I love for this recipe:
Coconut sugar is my favorite, go-to sweetener. It’s unrefined and low glycemic index. It tastes nothing like coconut and makes for a great 1:1 substitute for white sugar.
Brown sugar brings moisture (through the molasses) and flavor to these cookies. I highly recommend using light or dark brown sugar. Brown sugar has more molasses, which means more moisture.
Flaxseed meal mixed with water creates a great egg substitute.
Olive oil adds moisture and softness to these cookies. For a lighter taste, feel free to use light olive oil.
Coconut oil adds moisture and a bit of crunch to the outside of the baked cookies. Since there is so little in this recipe, the taste is unnoticeable, but you can use refined coconut oil to make sure there is absolutely no coconut taste.
Arrowroot starch adds to the chew factor in these cookies. Feel free to use corn starch instead.
Vegan Olive Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Classic Chocolate Chunk Cookies made vegan using a blend of olive and coconut oil and flaxseed meal. Delicious and packed with lots of chocolate, these cookies will please both vegans and non vegans alike!
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil, liquid (*measured as a liquid)
- 6 Tbsp olive oil or light olive oil
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp lukewarm water)
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp arrowroot starch (or corn starch)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup dairy-free chopped chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
- Maldon salt to sprinkle
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Prepare your flax egg using lukewarm water and allow to thicken for around 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine the liquid coconut oil and olive oil. Whisk in the coconut sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Finally, whisk in the flax egg until all ingredients are totally combined - it may take a minute for the oil and water to mix together; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, arrowroot starch, and salt. Add in the liquid ingredients and use a large wooden spoon or spatula to mix until nearly combined. Add 1/2 cup of the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips and mix. The dough will be oily, so it's normal for the chocolate to fall away from the dough.
- Scoop dough balls 2 Tbsp in size. Press and roll each dough ball smooth, placing pieces of extra chocolate into the tops of each one and reshaping as necessary. Place all of the dough balls onto one parchment-lined baking sheet and allow to rest at room temperature while you preheat your oven to 350°F. This gives the coconut oil a chance to solidify a bit (evenly) across all dough balls.
- Bake dough balls 6 at a time at 350°F for 7 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake them! Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sea salt flakes, and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Let your baking sheet cool to room temperature before baking another batch.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
If you prefer to use only a cookie scoop instead of the scoop and roll method, your cookie dough balls won't need to rest as long. Feel free to bake them right away!
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hi about to make these now and im so excited yum! I don’t have any arrow/corn starch, do you think it will be fine to leave out? thanksss
It helps give the cookies a chewy texture, so they may not be as chewy but should be okay! 🙂
Does it matter if I’ve put them in the fridge prior to baking?
Hi! I’m afraid they may not spread enough if the dough is chilled.
can i turn this recipe non vegan? can i replace the flax seed with sometbing else
Hi Hannah! You might be able to make these using 1 large egg in place of the flax egg (I haven’t tested this recipe with egg). Let me know if they turn out!
Hi! I don’t have any flaxseed at the moment. Will they be okay without any “egg”?
Hi! Did you make these cookies without the flaxseed egg? In traditional baking, eggs act as a binder to hold ingredients together, so instead of the flax, you can try using another vegan binder – chia egg or powdered egg replacer. But since I haven’t tested this recipe with any other “eggs” I’m not sure how the cookies would turn out.