Amazing Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I was recently gifted a big tub of coconut oil, so I started looking into interesting ways to use it. In my quest, I came across a recipe for "The Most Wonderful Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever" by Baker by Nature! With a name like that, I had to try them, especially after scanning the recipe - aside from coconut oil, coconut milk, and applesauce subbing in for butter and eggs, it seemed like a very standard and straightforward cookie recipe.

I stood in the grocery store aisle for a while reading about vegan chocolate on my phone before learning that a lot of semisweet and darker chocolates are actually vegan! Apparently the things to look for in the ingredients list are things like milk powder, whey, or casein. If none of those are present, the remaining ingredients in chocolate are typically vegan. 

While I was ingredient-shopping, I couldn't find any ready-made chocolate chips/chunks that were vegan, so I went with some semisweet baking chocolate bars. (I actually definitely prefer the look and feel of hand-chopped chocolate chunks, but it definitely is an extra step to have to take!)

I still don't own an ice cream scoop, so to shape my cookies, I packed portions of the dough into a small bowl and then turned the bowl out to release the dough. I also felt that the dough seemed a little soft - though it held together really well during the shaping! - so I chilled the dough scoops for a bit before baking.

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

adapted from Baker by Nature

Ingredients

1/2 cup solid coconut oil

1 and 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla, beating until well combined. Add in the coconut milk and applesauce and whisk until fully incorporated. 

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to combine.

4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

5. Scoop mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie for spreading. Dough will be fairly soft; chill for 15-30 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.

6. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden. 

I love how these came out! There definitely is a bit of coconut flavor there, but otherwise it tastes like a classic chocolate chip cookie. (Don't worry, the applesauce flavor does NOT come through.) The texture was amazing - the perfect soft, chewy cookie consistency! These are definitely the best vegan cookies I've had - and what a world of possibilities this recipe opens!

Hope you give them a shot, and enjoy!