Several years ago, the founders of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale shared this go-to bake sale recipe with us. It was originally created by a participant named Holly, for her own vegan bake sale, but it soon became a favorite at bake sales across the country. The recipe was dubbed “Can’t Miss” jumbo vegan chocolate chip cookies, and is a dairy-free, egg-free spin on the classic Tollhouse variety.
Those Big Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Everyone Wants
Holly makes these cookies oversized, so they can easily be sold as singles. The recipe is pretty straight forward, but I do have answers to some cookie FAQs.
My Cookies Came Out Too Flat. What Happened?
It’s possible that your baking soda has lost potency. To test it, place a little of your baking soda in a bowl and add a splash of vinegar. It should fizz and bubble vigorously and immediately. If it doesn’t, you need new baking soda! But the more likely culprit is your butter alternative. Some don’t hold up as well when baked, and can separate or spread out, creating greasy, thin, and/or burnt cookies. This issue can be exacerbated with egg-free cookies. Here’s a quick comparison on some of the major butter alternative brands.
Do I Need to Adjust for High Altitude?
Cookies are tricky at high altitude, particularly when using both a dairy alternative and an egg substitute. I’ve heard this recipe does okay at high altitude, but it will depend on your climate and ingredients. Test a couple cookies in your oven. If they spread too much and/or become greasy, add a little more flour.
What Chocolate Chips Do You Recommend?
I use Enjoy Life, which are allergy-friendly. Their chocolate chunks will make these big vegan chocolate chip cookies even more special.
Can These Cookies be Frozen?
Yes! If you want to bake them ahead, you can cool the cookies, wrap them, and freeze. Let them defrost before eating or selling.
Special Diet Notes: Big Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally nut-free, peanut-free, vegan / plant-based, and vegetarian.
For soy-free vegan chocolate chip cookies, substitute a dairy-free, soy-free yogurt (such as coconut yogurt) for the tofu. Another viable option would be banana, apple, or pumpkin puree. The small amount used should not drastically affect the flavor. Also, be sure to choose dairy-free, soy-free chocolate chips.
- 1½ cups dairy-free buttery sticks
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup tofu (firm or soft) (see post above for soy-free options)
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons water
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 3 cups dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 375ºF and grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a food processor or mixer, blend the buttery sticks, sugars, tofu, vanilla, and water until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the wet mixture into these dry ingredients until well-combined. The batter should be somewhat sticky, not dry. If it's too dry, add just a little more water. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts (if using).
- Scoop the dough by the heaping tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for about 9 minutes, or until the cookies are just turning golden brown.
- Let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then carefully remove the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the remaining dough (I prefer to bake 1 sheet at a time).
Half Batch: Use ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter alternative, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons tofu, ¾ teaspoon vanilla, ¾ teaspoon water, 1½ cups + 2 tablespoons flour, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ cups chocolate chips, and ½ cup walnuts.
These Sweet Potato Cookies are another Vegan Bake Sale Favorite!
5 Comments
Wow, I’ve never heard of this kind of event- This gives me the best excuse to keep baking vegan treats! This looks delicious!
I’m so impressed with these cookies – the texture looks fabulous.
This worldwide vegan bake sale sounds like an amazing event. I can imagine all the wonderful cookies, etc that will come out of it. Your vegan chip cookies sound so good. You make them look so easy to make.
These cookies look delicious!
Alisa these cookies look scrumptious and I love the addition of the tofu to give it a nice moist texture. I would love to take part in the vegan bake sale. thanks for sharing the links!