Chocolate chip cookies are the quintessential cookie, the cookie of all cookies if you will, and I’m pretty happy with my version – vegan, sugar-free chocolate chip cookies! Yep that’s right, it is actually still possible to make this cookie without any animal products or sugar. They’re a nice golden brown and soft and chewy in the centre, with lots of dark chocolate chips. 

I must say though, perfecting my vegan, sugar-free chocolate chip cookies definitely did not happen first try. In fact it took making these 4 times before I got them just right. The first time I made them with too much sweetener and not enough chocolate chips, meaning they had that stevia aftertaste you sometimes get and were more vanilla cookies with bits of chocolate than actual chocolate chip cookies.Then it was not enough margarine making them too firm, then they were too cakey. Finally I got there. 

I got all my quantities on point and I also learnt that creaming sugar and butter (or in this case sweetener and dairy-free margarine) really does make a difference. You need to cream the two ingredients together for long enough so that the mixture really does go noticeably paler and thicker. Something I didn’t do in recipe attempt 3, hence the cakiness. Doing this increases the amount of air in the dough which in turns creates a better cookie structure.

The good thing about making slightly different versions of these cookies 4 times was not only being able to eat a lot of cookies, but the recipe (even for my first few attempts) is so easy and quick to make. We literally had a stash of these in the pantry for 2 weeks, it was glorious. 

But I think my favourite thing about these cookies, and in fact all vegan cookies, is that it’s perfectly 100% safe to eat the cookie dough! Zero risk of salmonella as there are no raw eggs. I’m gonna be honest, while I was making these I ate a LOT of cookie dough. And it’s a good cookie dough too.

Now in regards to texture, this cookie dough will likely be less firm than your usual cookie dough. But trust me these will work. I also doubted the runnier dough and in one of my trials added more flour. Do not do that. That’s when your cookies will end up too firm and hard. 

Once these come out of the oven they will be soft. That’s how they’re meant to be. You’ll know they’re done because they’ll be lightly browned. Leave them to cook for around 10 minutes until they’re starting to set, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely, in which time they will be fully set. You can also eat them straight from the oven when they’re still soft and they are delicious like that too – all soft, gooey and chewy. But of course you’re not going to eat the entire batch straight from the oven. (although no judgment here if you do!)

How do you make chocolate chip cookies vegan and sugar-free?

Well, as I mentioned this recipe did take some development. It’s one thing baking without animal products (which actually isn’t too hard!), but then omitting sugar is a whole other thing. But it is doable!

Sugar has a lot to do with the makeup of the whole cookie, as do all the ingredients. Sugar helps keep baked goods moist, it helps to brown, and it provides structure and leavens. 

So I had to find a good sugar substitute and the right quantity. While the sugar substitute I used is good and I’m really happy overall with my cookies, these aren’t EXACTLY like traditional chocolate chip cookies. They are slightly softer and don’t crisp up as much around the edges due to the lack of actual sugar.

In place of sugar I chose to use Natvia. It’s actually what I use most often when I bake as it works in most of the recipes I have tried. It’s a natural sweetener made from a mix of stevia and erythritol. It’s a little bit sweeter than sugar, so when I use it I use a bit less than what I would sugar.

To ensure these chocolate chip cookies were sugar-free, I of course also needed to use sugar-free chocolate chips. But because I also made these vegan, I needed sugar-free AND dairy-free chocolate chips. Luckily there are a few on the market these days. I used Healtheries 99% sugar free dark chocolate baking bits. I’ve used these a lot in the past and I really like them. Although be warned – they aren’t cheap.

And then the vegan thing. As I said this part is a bit easier. I always use dairy-free margarine where butter would normally be used in a recipe and it has always worked for me. I use Olivani. Any dairy-free margarine should work, and dairy-free butter would be good if you can get it. The good thing about using margarine in place of butter is you don’t need to soften it first.

The other animal product which is often used in chocolate chip cookies is eggs. And you do need some kind of egg-like ingredient to help bind and leaven these cookies due to the absence of sugar. If you’re feeling lazy, like I was, you can use a pre-made egg substitute such as Organ Egg Free Egg Replacer. Otherwise have a go at my flaxseed egg replacer. 

What kitchen tools do I need?

The great thing about cookies is that most of them use pretty standard kitchen tools which you likely already have. For these, you will need:

Electric Beaters

Mixing Bowl

Wooden Spoon

Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons

Baking tray or cookie sheet

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