The Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Forums have referenced Jo as “the mother of vegan cooking,” and rightfully so. She has mastered the art of vegan comfort food using easy to find ingredients. Both Sarena and I recently received a copy of her recently revised title, Vegan Vittles: Second Helpings to try out. We’re both big cookie fans, so I wasn’t surprised when we independently chose to make the Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies recipe first.

The Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies: Two Ways

Sarena baked up two versions, chocolate chip (pictured above) and black walnut raisin. The younger tasters in her family liked the classic chocolate chip best, but the older crowd voted for the raisin walnut. Overall, this recipe was well loved and voted a winner.

I ended up making raisin walnut because we were out of chocolate chips. We also thought it was a pretty tasty cookie that appeals to both vegans and non-vegans. The cookies seemed a bit dry at first, but Jo recommends refrigerating them. And this is truly the key. They take on a unique taste and texture that is really quite pleasing.

This cookbook will definitely take a place in my most used collection, which is currently limited to only three cookbooks (I am quite picky). Hopefully, I will have some time to make the carrot cake soon!

This vegan chocolate chip oatmeal cookies recipe is for those who are wholesome at heart. It’s loaded with chunks of nuts, oats, and whole-wheat pastry flour. I did end up using white flour in the cookies pictured below. I didn’t have whole wheat pastry flour on hand, and was worried that my whole wheat bread flour would be a little too heavy.

Special Diet Notes: Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.

The Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Prep time

12 mins

Cook time

18 mins

Total time

30 mins

This recipe is a sample from: Vegan Vittles: Second Helpings by Jo Stepaniak. It is reprinted here with permission.

Author: Jo Stepaniak

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 12 cookies

Ingredients

1 ½ cups quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted (omit for nut-free)
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (can sub raisins)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup vegetable oil (can sub another oil for soy-free)
½ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (for the easiest cleanup), or mist them with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the oats, flour, walnuts, chocolate chips, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Stir with a dry whisk until well combined.
Place the oil, maple syrup, water, and vanilla extract in a small bowl, and beat vigorously with a whisk until well combined. Stir into the flour mixture, mixing just until everything is evenly moistened. Let rest for 5 minutes so the oats can absorb some of the moisture.
Drop slightly rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. The dough will be crumbly. Flatten with your hand to one-third inch thick. Smooth the edges to make each cookie uniformly round, gently pressing the dough so the cookies hold together.
Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 18 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned.
Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack, and let cool completely.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (The cookies will taste best after they have been chilled.)

Notes

To toast the walnuts, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly browned.