The Ultimate Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Chewy, Soft & Irresistible

Prepare to fall in love with these incredibly soft and wonderfully chewy vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Each bite delivers a delightful symphony of flavors and textures, combining the rustic earthiness of oats with the luxurious richness of melted chocolate chips. Forget about eggs or dairy – these plant-based marvels prove that you don’t need animal products to achieve cookie perfection. With their subtly crisp edges and lusciously gooey centers, they offer the absolute best balance for a truly satisfying sweet treat. Whether you’re a seasoned vegan baker or simply looking for a delicious, allergy-friendly dessert, these cookies are guaranteed to become a new household favorite.

Why You’ll Adore These Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

There’s so much to celebrate about this particular recipe. We’ve honed it to deliver consistently perfect results every single time, making it a staple for anyone craving a wholesome yet indulgent dessert. Here’s what makes these vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies truly stand out:

Effortless Baking with Simple Ingredients

One of the greatest joys of this recipe is its simplicity. You don’t need exotic ingredients or complicated techniques. With common pantry staples, you can whip up a batch of these exquisite cookies with minimal fuss. The straightforward process ensures that even beginner bakers can achieve professional-tasting results, making it an ideal choice for a spontaneous baking session or a planned dessert for guests.

A Deliciously Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Indulgence

For those avoiding dairy and eggs, or simply looking to incorporate more plant-based options into their diet, these cookies are a revelation. Simple ingredient swaps transform a classic comfort food into an entirely vegan delight without compromising on flavor or texture. You get all the rich taste and satisfying chewiness of traditional oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but made entirely from plants. They’re perfect for sharing with friends and family who have dietary restrictions, ensuring everyone can enjoy a scrumptious treat.

The Perfect Harmony of Flavor and Texture

These cookies are a masterful blend of delightful flavors and textures. Each cookie boasts a slightly crisp edge that gives way to an irresistibly soft and chewy center. The caramelly notes from the brown sugar perfectly complement the hearty earthiness of the oats, while pockets of rich, melted vegan chocolate chips provide bursts of decadent sweetness. This combination creates a truly divine eating experience that will leave you reaching for just one more.

Essential Ingredients for Your Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Creating these delightful vegan cookies starts with understanding the role of each key ingredient. While the recipe calls for simple items, their quality and combination are what yield such fantastic results.

• Quick Oats: These are essential for the classic oatmeal cookie texture. Quick oats absorb moisture faster and bake more evenly, contributing to the soft and chewy consistency we’re aiming for. While rolled oats can be used, quick oats provide a less rustic, more uniform chew.
• All-Purpose Flour: The foundational dry ingredient, providing structure to our cookies.
• Cinnamon: A warm, aromatic spice that beautifully complements the oats and chocolate, adding depth of flavor.
• Fresh Baking Soda: This leavening agent reacts with the apple cider vinegar to help the cookies rise and achieve their desired texture. Ensure your baking soda is fresh for optimal results.
• Salt: A crucial flavor enhancer that balances the sweetness and brings out the other notes in the cookies.
• Vegan Butter (at room temperature): The star of our vegan fat content, providing richness and tenderness. Using it at room temperature ensures it creams properly with the sugars, creating a light and airy base for the dough. Look for high-quality vegan butter sticks designed for baking.
• Light Brown Sugar (packed): This not only adds sweetness but also moisture, contributing significantly to the chewy texture and imparting wonderful caramel undertones. Packing it ensures accurate measurement.
• Granulated White Sugar: Works alongside brown sugar to provide sweetness and helps with the crispness of the cookie edges.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: A universal flavor enhancer, vanilla adds a layer of warmth and complexity to any baked good.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Our secret weapon for an egg-free cookie! The acidity in the vinegar reacts with the baking soda, creating bubbles that help the cookies rise and become tender, mimicking the leavening and binding properties of eggs.
• Vegan Milk of Choice: Just a tablespoon adds the necessary moisture to bring the dough together. Almond, soy, or oat milk all work wonderfully.
• Vegan Chocolate Chips: The delightful pockets of melted chocolate! Ensure you choose chocolate chips explicitly labeled as vegan, as many standard brands contain dairy. Dark chocolate chips are often a safe bet.

Expert Tips for Baking Perfect Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Even with a straightforward recipe, a few insider tips can elevate your baking from good to absolutely spectacular. Follow these pointers for vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that are consistently perfect:

Mastering the Bake Time for Ideal Texture

The secret to that perfect soft and chewy texture with slightly crisp edges lies in precise timing. It’s crucial to remove your cookies from the oven just when their edges begin to turn a light golden brown. The centers might still appear a little soft or underbaked, but don’t worry! Cookies continue to cook and set as they rest on the hot cookie sheet after being removed from the oven. Taking them out too late will result in drier, crunchier cookies – which is fine if that’s your preference, but for optimal chewiness, err on the side of slightly underbaked. Trust the process; those soft centers will firm up beautifully as they cool.

The Art of Flattening: Not Too Thin, Not Too Thick

When you scoop and flatten your cookie dough portions, pay close attention to their thickness. While flattening helps achieve that classic cookie shape and encourages even baking, making them too thin can lead to disaster. Overly thin cookies will bake much faster, becoming brittle and excessively crunchy, and they are significantly more susceptible to burning around the edges. Aim for a thickness that allows the cookie to spread slightly while baking, without becoming cracker-like. A gentle press with the palm of your hand, just enough to slightly flatten the dome of the scoop, is usually sufficient.

Don’t Skip the Chill Time!

Refrigerating the cookie dough for 15 minutes before baking is not just an optional step; it’s a game-changer. Chilling the dough solidifies the vegan butter, preventing the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. This results in thicker, chewier cookies with a better texture. Furthermore, chilling allows the flavors to meld and intensify, leading to a more delicious and complex cookie.

Accurate Measurement is Key in Baking

Baking is a science, and precision matters. While cooking allows for more improvisation, baking requires accurate measurements. Use proper measuring cups and spoons, and for flour, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with a straight edge rather than scooping directly from the bag (which can lead to too much flour). This ensures the correct dough consistency.

Room Temperature Matters

Ensure your vegan butter is truly at room temperature. This means it should be soft enough to easily indent with your finger but not melted or greasy. Room temperature butter creams beautifully with sugar, incorporating air into the mixture and resulting in lighter, more tender cookies. If your butter is too cold, it won’t cream properly; if it’s too warm, your dough might be too soft and greasy.

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Get ready to bake a batch of the most satisfying vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever tasted!

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 15 minutes

Chill: 15 minutes

Total: 45 minutes

Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies packed with chocolate chips and absolutely no dairy or eggs!

Cheryl Malik

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Yields: 12 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup quick oats
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon fresh baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup vegan butter, at room temperature
• ½ packed cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vegan milk of choice
• ⅓ cup vegan chocolate chips

Equipment

• Medium mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl
• Hand mixer or stand mixer
• Silicone spatula
• Large cookie sheet
• Parchment paper
• Cookie scoop with release handle
• Refrigerator
• Oven
• Spatula
• Wire cooling racks

Instructions

1. Add 1 cup quick oats, ¾ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon fresh baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt to a medium mixing bowl. Whisk these dry ingredients together until well blended. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add ½ cup vegan butter, ½ packed cup light brown sugar, and ¼ cup granulated white sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream these ingredients together on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, which usually takes about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Once the butter and sugars are creamed, gradually add the whisked dry ingredients to the mixture. Mix on low speed just until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet mixture. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
4. With the mixer still on low speed, add 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, and 1 tablespoon vegan milk of choice to the mixing bowl. Continue mixing until these ingredients are just incorporated and the cookie dough begins to form a crumbly consistency.
5. Set the mixer aside. Add ⅓ cup vegan chocolate chips to the bowl and gently fold the chocolate chips into the cookie dough using a silicone spatula.
6. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop with a release handle to portion the cookie dough into individual scoops, each approximately 1 tablespoon in size. Make sure to pack the dough tightly into the cookie scoop.
7. Release each scoop of cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Ensure you leave about 2 inches of space between each scoop to allow for spreading during baking.
8. Gently press each scoop of cookie dough flat with the palm of your hand. Remember the expert tip: be careful not to make the cookies too thin, as this can affect their final texture.
9. Once all the cookies have been flattened, place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator. Refrigerate the cookies for 15 minutes. This chilling step is essential for preventing excessive spreading and enhancing flavor.
10. While the cookies are chilling, preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit (175°C).
11. After 15 minutes, transfer the chilled cookie sheet from the refrigerator to the preheated oven. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and the centers appear firm but still slightly soft.
12. Carefully remove the cookie sheet from the oven and set it aside. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. This allows them to set further.
13. After 5 minutes, carefully transfer the cooled cookies to wire cooling rack(s) to cool completely. Once fully cooled, serve them as desired and enjoy!

Notes

• Storage: Keep these vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. They also freeze well for longer storage.
• Variations: Feel free to add other vegan-friendly mix-ins like chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans), shredded coconut, or dried cranberries for an extra layer of flavor and texture.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1 cookie

Calories: 186kcal

Protein: 2g

Fat: 8g

Saturated Fat: 3g

Trans Fat: 0.04g

Total Carbs: 27g

Fiber: 1g

Sugar: 16g

Net Carbs: 26g

Vitamin C: 0.01mg

Sodium: 208mg

Potassium: 49mg

Calcium: 22mg

Iron: 1mg

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik

Frequently Asked Questions About Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here are answers to some common questions you might have about making these delectable vegan cookies:

Can I use rolled oats instead of quick oats?

While quick oats are recommended for this recipe to achieve a consistently soft and chewy texture, you can technically use rolled oats. However, using rolled oats might result in a slightly chewier, more rustic cookie with a less uniform texture. If you choose rolled oats, consider pulsing them briefly in a food processor a few times to break them down slightly, which can help them integrate better into the dough and prevent a too-crumbly texture.

What’s the best type of vegan butter and milk to use?

For vegan butter, we recommend using stick-form vegan butter specifically designed for baking, as it has a fat content closer to dairy butter, which is crucial for texture and spread. Brands like Miyoko’s Kitchen Cultured Vegan Butter or Earth Balance Vegan Butter Sticks are excellent choices. For vegan milk, any unsweetened plant-based milk will work. Almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk are all great options and won’t impart a strong flavor to the cookies.

Can I freeze the cookie dough or baked cookies?

Absolutely! This recipe is excellent for meal prep. To freeze cookie dough, scoop the portions onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid (about 1-2 hours). Transfer the frozen dough balls to an airtight freezer-safe bag or container and store for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, place frozen dough balls on a baking sheet and add a few extra minutes to the baking time, or allow them to thaw slightly first. Baked cookies can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature or warm briefly in the oven for that fresh-baked feel.

Are there any other mix-ins I can add?

Certainly! These cookies are a fantastic base for various additions. Consider folding in a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans for extra crunch and nutty flavor. Shredded coconut, dried cranberries, or a mix of different vegan chocolate chips (dark, white, or milk chocolate alternatives) would also be delicious. Just be mindful not to add too many mix-ins, as this can affect the dough’s consistency and how the cookies bake.

More Delicious Vegan Desserts to Explore

If you’re loving the world of vegan baking, we have even more incredible plant-based dessert recipes for you to try:

• Vegan Cookie Dough
• Tangy Vegan Lemon Bars
• Vegan Apple Pie
• The Best Avocado Chocolate Mousse (Vegan, Dairy Free)
• Vegan Oatmeal Cookies (without chocolate chips)
• Creamy Vegan Coconut Cream Pie
• Vegan Marshmallows
• Healthy-ish Apple Nachos

Indulge in Plant-Based Cookie Perfection

These vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are more than just a recipe; they’re an experience. They embody comfort, flavor, and the joy of creating something truly delicious that everyone can enjoy. With their ideal balance of chewiness, sweetness, and satisfying texture, they’re perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up, a dessert for special occasions, or simply to satisfy that cookie craving. Don’t hesitate to bake a batch and discover the magic of plant-based baking for yourself!

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