The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is the vegan cookie recipe you’ve been looking for. It’s everything you want from a perfect cookie: golden, crispy on the outside, soft and ooey-gooey on the inside. Above all, it is studded with with POOLS of dark chocolate.

My new favorite chocolate obsession is Hu Kitchen’s Baking Gems. They’re organic and vegan. Most importantly, it is made WITHOUT palm oil, emulsifiers, or soy lecithin. They melt into beautiful puddles on the cookies.

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This recipe is tried and tested by Erin Patinkin & Agatha Kulaga of Ovenly and Food52. The recipe makes about 20 – 25 cookies

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips *
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
• 1/2 cup (110 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar (I used light)
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola (or any other neutral oil)
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
• Coarse-grained sea salt or flaky sea salt like Maldon, for garnish

LET’S BAKE

1. THE DRY INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips to the flour mixture and toss to coat.
2. THE WET INGREDIENTS. In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugars briskly with the canola oil and water until smooth and incorporated, about 2 minutes
3. Add the dry ingredients from step 1 to the sugar mixture, and then stir with a rubber spatula until just combined and no flour is visible. Do not overmix.
4. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Do not skip this step. *
5. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper. Remove dough from the refrigerator and use an ice cream scoop or a spoon to portion dough into 2-inch mounds. I used 1.6 inch/4 cm scoop to make smaller cookies.
6. Sprinkle the balls of dough with coarse-grained sea salt (if freezing, remove balls of dough from the freezer first), and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are just golden. Do not overbake.
7. Let cool completely. SERVE AND DEVOUR!

* NOTES

• WHICH CHOCOLATE? Hu Kitchen’s Baking Gems are my favorite. My backup is Trader Joe’s 72% dark chocolate Pound Plus bark. They melt better than chocolate chips, and I love chopping them into a mix of large chunks and smaller shreds.
• DO I NEED TO CHILL THE DOUGH? I experimented with baking the cookies as soon as it was made, chilled for 30 minutes, and chilled overnight. The cookies made right away were good. But the cookies got BETTER the more time it spent in the fridge. They were darker and deeper in flavor. Therefore, if you can afford the time, let them ripen in the fridge.