For years, I’ve been searching for my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I want outrageously delicious bakery-style chocolate chip cookies that completely capture my attention upon first bite. I want a chewy middle, barely crisp edges, complex flavor, and rich chocolate chips.
I want all of that in a cookie recipe that’s easy to make. No mixer required. No creaming of softened-but-not-too-soft butter. No chilling the dough for 24 hours. I don’t have the patience for any of that. Sometimes a girl just needs a cookie!
These chocolate chip cookies are the best homemade chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. My cookie search is over.
These cookies are so delicious and supremely easy to make. The dough needs a very reasonable 30-minute chill in the refrigerator, and let me tell you, they’re worth the brief wait.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Also amazing? These cookies are (shockingly) vegan. That’s right, there’s no butter or eggs in this recipe, but you’d never guess it.
How? Instead of butter, these cookies use melted coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, or a neutral-flavored oil like avocado oil. The eggs are simply omitted with no downsides.
For non-vegans like me, this means that the recipe is even easier to make than standard chocolate chip cookies.
For those with dairy or egg allergies, these cookies are a total game changer.
The remaining ingredients are simple and wholesome. You’ll need whole wheat flour, chocolate chips, sugar, coconut sugar or brown sugar, and your basic salt and leavening agents. I sprinkled my cookies with some flaky sea salt to make them even more irresistible.
How These Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies Came to Be
I can’t take full credit for this recipe. I was intrigued by the original recipe offered in the Ovenly Cookbook, via Food52. I made several adjustments to their ingredients and method.
I swapped whole wheat flour for all-purpose, which is undetectable in the final product. I also substituted coconut sugar for brown sugar, which is less refined (for those wondering, it is impossible to make bakery-style cookies using liquid natural sweeteners). I experimented with oils other than canola, which is highly processed and high in omega-6s.
I also found a chilling time shortcut. If you scoop the dough onto the sheets and then chill it, 30 minutes in the freezer works just as well as their 24-hour recommendation. That way, the recipe works with coconut oil, which solidifies at cool temperatures.
Coconut Oil vs. Olive Oil
We should talk a little bit about how your choice of oil affects the final product. I didn’t notice any textural differences with any of the oils, but virgin coconut oil offers a slight coconut flavor. Olive oil tastes like, well, olive oil, especially when the cookies are warm.
If you enjoy the flavor of either of those oils on their own, I think you’ll love how they shine through in these cookies and make the flavor more interesting. I’m partial to coconut oil. If you want cookies that taste like standard bakery chocolate chip cookies, use refined coconut oil or a neutral oil like avocado oil or safflower oil.
It’s about time this blog had a proper chocolate chip cookie recipe. Here it is, just in time for the holidays! Hope you’ll whip some up right away.
Please let me know how it turns out for you in the comments. I hope it becomes your favorite recipe, too.
A little note on cookie dough safety: Since the dough is egg free, it doesn’t carry the usual risk of salmonella poisoning. However, raw flour can carry a slight risk for E.Coli or presumably other pathogens. So, I don’t recommend eating this dough, either!
Here’s more information from the CDC about raw flour (thank you to Tara for sharing).
Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes (plus 30 minutes chill time)
- Yield: 13 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookie
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
The best chocolate chip cookie recipe! These cookies are easy to make with basic, wholesome ingredients. No mixer required! They’re miraculously vegan, too (no softened butter here). Recipe yields 13 large cookies.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ¼ cups chocolate chips*
- ⅔ cup lightly packed coconut sugar or ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil**
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon water
- Maldon flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine, then add the chocolate chips and toss to coat.
- In a large bowl, combine the coconut sugar, regular sugar, oil and water. Whisk until the sugar has incorporated into the oil and the mixture is smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, then stir just until combined and no more flour is visible (don’t overdo it).
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Fill an ice cream scoop two-thirds with dough (or spoon the mixture into even 2-inch mounds), and place the dough onto one of the prepared sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, leaving several inches of space around each cookie.
- Freeze the cookies on their pans for 30 minutes, or chill them for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake until the edges are just starting to turn golden, about 14 to 17 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack and sprinkle the cookies with flaky salt, if using. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Ovenly’s Secretly Vegan Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies.
*Chocolate chip notes: I like Ghiradelli’s bittersweet 60% cacao chocolate chips. Use vegan/dairy free chocolate chips if necessary.
**Oil notes: You can taste the coconut or olive oil flavor lightly in these cookies. Use whichever one you prefer. For completely neutral-flavored cookies, use a neutral-flavored oil such as avocado oil or safflower oil.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Simply use dairy-free/vegan chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life brand.
Make it gluten free: Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free all-purpose flour blend works great!
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Laura
Do you have a great way to store these cookies! I want to have them tasting absolutely fresh tomorrow!!
★★★★★
Emma
I don’t know what I didn’t wrong :( The cookies wouldn’t stick together and spread all the way out into one giant rectangle. I put the dough in the freezer for 30 min but the dough was very oily… to the point the Olive oil was sweeping out of the cookies I had scooped out after I took it out of the freezer. Maybe I didn’t add enough flour or I over stirred? Thought they were a bit sweet too…
★★★
Kate
Hi Emma, Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. Your measurements may have been slightly off and over stirred as you noted.
Mark
Hello the chocolate chip cookies are awesomely terrible thank u so much for these terrible cookies, oop that was autocorrects fault
Mark
MY favorite dish here is the stuffed shells those are the best thing she u have here on this website
★★★★★
Ellie
Awesome!!!!!!!! I used half spelt and all white sugar. Can I refridgerate or freeze the dough for future use?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Ellie, I’m not sure freezing this long term for future use as I haven’t tried it. Sorry!
Anita
These cookies are a game changer! I have recently gone dairy and egg free due to an allergy and am so thankful I found this recipe! They turned out perfectly crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. I reduced the sugar by 1/3 and still found them sweet enough.
★★★★★
Mark
MY favorite dish here is the stuffed shells those are the best thing u have here on this website
★★★★★
Mark
AWESOme cookies thank u for the awesome recipe and u should keep making even more deserts and of my favorite cookies thank u Kate
★★★★★
Isabelle
This is an amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe! The cookies had a crisp outer shell and a gooey, chocolatey inside. They were really easy to make and only took a couple minutes! Totally worth it.I would recommend this recipe to anyone looking for a great go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies, everyone in the family loved them. Thank you.
★★★★★
Rachelle
These cookies are amazing for sure. Lots of great flavor!
Pam
Excellent!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Pam!
Marie Angela Baffa
I live in Italy. I made these chocolate chip cookies a few months ago and they were delicious !
I love reading your healthy recipes and your funny comments. The photos are beautiful!
★★★★★
lupita
Im trying to make it with Coconut flour, has anyone done it? Wondering if its the same exact process… Thanks ya’ll
Kate
Unfortunately, coconut flour isn’t a 1:1 substitution.
Aya
Hi, just wondering what would happen if I bake the cookies right away without freezing them first? I don’t have enough space in my freezer
Kate
You won’t get the desired result, sorry! You can put them in your refrigerator to for 24 hours.
Lish Olson
Hello! Wondering if you could use vegetable oil in this recipe? I know it’s not the world’s best oil, but working with what I have here at the moment :)
Kate
It could work! I hate to say without trying it to give it my stamp of approval, but it does typically work as a replacement. Let me know how it goes for you!
Erin
I wasn’t sure about these as I put them
In the oven because the dough was pretty crumbly and I didn’t have regular sugar so I added a little extra brown sugar, but WOW! These are so good. I used coconut oil and I love the added flavor.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! I’m excited you loved them, Erin.
Shannon
I am OBSESSED with these cookies. Cookies are one of my favorite things on earth, and I thought I would try this recipe just to do something new. These are now the only cookies I will make. I have made them for many people and every time they say it is one of the best they have had. The coconut really adds something special! Thank you Kate for making my world more delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re not alone, I am too! These are just the perfect thing right now, too.
Leslie
Hi there! I don’t have brown sugar. Any way I can substitute with honey or extra white sugar? Thanks!
Kate
Hi! Unfortunately, a wet sweetener doesn’t work well here.
Miller
Mine turned out the same … disappointing
Kate
Hi Miller, I’m sorry you didn’t love this one.
Mrs Brennan
These are amazing chocolate chip cookies! I did tweek a few things, but not much. Hard to believe a butter and egg less cookie could be delicious and very good texture!
*I added 1 cup dark chocolate chips
*I only added 1/3 cup plus a 1/2 of a 1/3 cup coconut sugar
*I only added 1/4 cup brown sugar – I don’t like things too sweet – but with this combination – was perfect.
*I used 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 olive oil – did not taste the coconut personally. Which is ok, like it both ways – coconut flavor or no flavor.
★★★★★
Ted
Thanks for all the great recipes. Your site is a lifesaver. Can this cookie dough be frozen for future use? Cheers!
Kate
Hi Ted, I didn’t try it. However, you could see if others have and what their results were by checking the comments.
Ted
Froze the dough balls so that we could make 1 or 2 at a time and to keep me from going ham on a whole plate of cookies (no self control). Cooked at a slightly lower temp for a while longer and they were perfect. So good. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Tailor
These are the best homemade chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had! The fact that these are vegan is a mega bonus, because I recently became vegan. I used all-purpose flour and they turned out so nicely. I’ve made these cookies two or three times now, and I’ve found that if you pre-roll them before putting them in the fridge you have a much easier time than rolling them after they’ve chilled! Can’t wait to make more of your vegan goodies!
★★★★★
David K
Two inch mounds sounds ENORMOUS for cookies! Are you sure about that?
Kate
Yes, I’m sure :)
Bianca Mudd
No egg??
Kate
No egg! Crazy I know, but they work and are delicious.
Min
I just made these today. Came out pretty well! I used regular all purpose flour and brown sugar. I think next time I’ll reduce the sugar as it was pretty sweet. Loved the coconut flavor and so did my husband! Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
Helen
Hi, I have made these cookies a few times and they are such a fabulous hit. I use the 1-1 Gluten free Bobs baking flour and they turn out great every time.
What is the best way to store them after please an how long will they last? (they are usually gone within a couple days you see in my house!)
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful, Helen! Thank you for your comment and review. I’m glad they worked so well for you.
Patricia
Delicious! They turned out so well. Will definitely make these again. Thanks!
★★★★★
Leonie Ruffin
What if I didn’t chill them?
Kate
Hi Leonie, chilling helps ensure that these cookies don’t spread too much while baking. Hope yours turn out great!
Leeona
OMG Amazing!! Im going to gain so much weight in Isolation!! Haha! But it will be so worth it! And FYI your website is my go too all the time, always winner recipes, THANKYOU!
★★★★★
Sherelle Brown
I found the batter super dry and I was worried about how they would turn out, but they’re pretty good! Very sweet :)
★★★★
Kate
I’m happy they still turned out for you, Sherelle! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Emily
We used extra virgin olive oil and substituted the white sugar for raw sugar. We also used compound cooking chocolate cut in to chunks instead of chocolate chips
Turned out great! Now I just have to find a suitable hiding spot so my kids don’t eat them all in one day.
★★★★★
Tamara
I tried the cookies with refrigerating over night and when they came out of the oven they were amazing! Unfortunately after they cooled down they became really hard. I dont know if I baked them too long or if they were not thick enough.
Anyway, gonna try them again and see how they turn out with less time! ☺️ thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
Munira
Can I substitute 1:1 with all purpose flour?
Also i don’t have brown sugar? How much more white sugar as replacement?
Kate
Hi! All-purpose flour should work fine. You could try replacing the brown sugar with white sugar (same amounts), but the spread of the cookies may be affected. I have not tried to be sure.
Angela
So yummy! They came out perfect. Was very happy. Used brown sugar & olive oil. Thank you, this recipe is a keeper!
★★★★★
Sandy
These cookies are delicious, are used the coconut oil and the brown sugar. I also added a small amount of butterscotch chips. I baked all of the cookies as directed, then froze half the batch. They are just as delicious when you let them thaw out of the freezer, or toss it in the microwave.
Emily
Mmm i made these cookies with my friend and they were nearly gone by the time she left!
★★★★★