Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is the best Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe because it combines a favorite cookie with holiday sprinkles for the perfect holiday treat! These are chewy, tender cookies on the inside with a crispy bite. Festive sprinkles add the perfect colors of the season!
If you love holiday baking as much as I do, check out my Vegan Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies or my Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. Both will have you swooning!
When I was a kid I loved Christmas. Who doesn’t love waking up to gifts by a tree! But there are times when Christmas isn’t quite as much fun as an adult. I’m not a big fan of shopping in the first place, let alone thinking about being forced to go shopping in crowded stores.
I have SHIAS — Shopping Induced Anxiety Syndrome. Baking makes SHIAS a lot better.
First of all, I love giving out baked goods as gifts. I always include my vegan peanut butter balls and these vegan Christmas sugar cookies. They’re so festive and delicious!
But these Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies? They work wonders on my spirit and my sweet tooth!
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- The addition of peanut butter, adds flavor and reduces the amount of vegan butter needed (saving money while not reducing the quality of the cookies)
- Using apple cider vinegar adds tenderness to the cookies that makes the cookies irresistible
- Colorful Holiday Sprinkles makes these cookies perfect for the holidays!
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:
- Vegan butter + Peanut butter — You can use all vegan butter or a mixture of vegan butter and peanut butter
- Sugar — We’ll use a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar. If you’re out, you can make light, dark or make brown sugar at home.
- Egg substitute — I’m using a combination of ground flaxseed and cornstarch as the egg substitute in these cookies.
- Almond milk — You can use any plant-based milk (or even water), but I’m pointing out almond milk because it’s a go-to favorite.
- Vinegar — Combining plant-based milk with vinegar creates vegan buttermilk. I typically use apple cider vinegar, but you can substitute white vinegar.
- Extracts — I like using both vanilla and almond extract because the almond adds a little bit of “Christmas cookie” flavor to the mix.
- Flour — I use all-purpose flour, but you can use whole wheat pastry flour. To make your Christmas chocolate chip cookies gluten-free, go ahead and use a baking quality gluten-free flour.
- Leaveners — We’ll use a combination of Baking soda + Baking powder to create soft cookies that also turn golden brown on the edges.
- Salt — You know the drill, a bit of salt enhances the flavor the sweetness.
- Chocolate Chips — Let’s add lots of chocolate chips to these yummy cookies. Use my chocolate chip dairy-free guide to help you find your favorite.
- Christmas sprinkles — There are lots of Christmas sprinkles to choose from. I find jimmies or confetti sprinkles work best when added to cookie dough.
I love that this holiday chocolate chip cookie yields tender cookies loaded with chocolate chips and sprinkles. I’m also including both vanilla and almond extract. That makes these cookies taste a vegan sugar cookie. Power to the sugar cookie!
It’s easy to make these chewy chocolate chip Christmas cookies!
- Cream Butter and Sugar — Cream together vegan butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
- Vegan Egg Replacers — Mix in the ground flaxseed, cornstarch, and unsweetened almond milk along with other wet ingredients.
- Mix Flour Ingredients — Add the dry ingredients together and then incorporate it into the cookie dough.
- Chocolate Chips + Sprinkles — Add chocolate chips and sprinkles and stir until combined.
- Drop + Bake — Drop rounded spoonfuls of cookie dough about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake.
- Cool — Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for a minute or two on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Storage Tips
To store cookies, transfer them to an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days. They can be refrigerated for up to 10 days. You can also freeze these cookies. They will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Tracy
These are absolutely some of the best cookies that I have ever eaten… These will be cookies that I make the whole year through.
★★★★★
Bonnie
Made these today. My family can’t stop eating them! I was hesitant because we are not fans of peanut butter cookies. But these cookies are DELICIOUS!
These Christmas chocolate chip cookies with sprinkles are great served as is. However, here are some ideas to transform them into something uniquely your own:
- Cookie Dough Balls — These are great as a baked baked cookies, however, the dough is pretty tasty, too. It’s important to cook the flour before serving edible cookie dough. Check out that link for more on how to preface flour so it’s safe to eat. Once you prepare the cookie dough balls, roll them in extra sprinkles!
- Extra Chocolate Chips and Sprinkles — Before baking your cookies, add some extra chocolate chips and sprinkles on to so you get lots of festive color and chocolate on top!
- Dipped in Chocolate — You can melt together some chocolate chips with a tiny bit of coconut oil and dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate for a dramatic flair.
- Cookie Sandwiches — Add some vegan buttercream frosting (colored red and/or green with food coloring) on the flat side of one cookie and top that with the flat side of another cookie. You’ll have a beautiful, Christmas sandwich cookie!
I also like that when I give these Christmas Sprinkle Cookies out as a gift to a neighbor or a friend, they smile real big. I believe they call that an ear-to-ear grin…and it’s my favorite.
By the way, we bought all the ingredients for these cookies at our local grocery store – straight from the peanut butter, flax seeds, and sprinkles. How cool is that!
Finally, I love that these cookies are colorful. It’s one part about Christmas that I really do like – bright colors!
Marly’s Tips
- Add some chopped nuts, like walnuts or peanuts to the dough
- Replace the vanilla with mint extract for a mint chocolate chip favorite!
- Make these into bite-size cookies by reducing the size, just be sure to bake them a little bit less so they don’t burn!
If your cookie dough is dry and crumbly, it has too much flour. Add a tablespoon of plant-based milk and gently stir it into the dough. You don’t want to stir too much.
If your cookie dough is too wet, the cookies will spread too much as they bake. Stir in an extra tablespoon of flour.
More Vegan Holiday Baking Ideas
If you love this chocolate chip Christmas cookie recipe, you may want to try other fun holiday recipes like this Christmas Holiday Puppy Chow! This Vegan Christmas Crack recipe is a winner, too! Want more? Here are even more vegan holiday baking recipes for you:
Here are even more Vegan Christmas Recipe Ideas for happy plant-based baking!
That’s it for this Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup almond milk , unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (see note)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
- 1 cup Christmas sprinkles plus extra
Instructions
- Preheat your to 350°F/177°C. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the butter, peanut butter, and sugars in a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, mix on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about one minute.
- Mix in the ground flax seeds, cornstarch, milk, vinegar, and extracts. Continue mixing until light and fluffy again.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt on top. Use a spoon to stir this mixture. Then use your mixer to combine the flour mixture with the butter mixture. Mix to combine.
- Add the chocolate chips and sprinkles and mix until they're incorporated throughout the dough.
- Use a cookie dough dispenser to make cookie dough balls. Press additional chocolate chips and sprinkles into the top of each cookie. Alternatively, pour sprinkles on a plate and roll cookie dough balls through the sprinkles. Place prepared cookie dough balls 1 ½ inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. These cookies are best when they're slightly undercooked so be careful not to over bake. You'll be rewarded with a dense, rich, moist cookie!
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for up to 2 minutes on the pan before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat until all the cookies are baked. Store in an airtight container.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
Regarding Peanut Butter
Substitute an equal amount of stirred almond butter for the peanut butter or simply use 1 cup of vegan butter instead of a nut butter.Measuring Flour
It is very important to use the sift, spoon, and level system for measuring flour. This involves sifting the flour, spooning it into the measuring cup, and then using a butter knife to level the cup. This ensures you get the right amount of flour.Assessing Cookie Dough
If your cookie dough is dry and crumbly, it has too much flour. Add a tablespoon of plant-based milk and gently stir it into the dough. You don’t want to stir too much. If your cookie dough is too wet, the cookies will spread too much as they bake. Stir in an extra tablespoon of flour.The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2014 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2020.
These are absolutely some of the best cookies that I have ever eaten. I substituted Almond Butter for Peanut Butter because my stomach can’t tolerate Peanut Butter. These will be cookies that I make the whole year through.
Hi Tracy! I’m so glad you liked these cookies! I love your idea for swapping the almond butter. I will add that as a note in the recipe! ❤️
Thanks Marly. I can honestly say these are probably the best cookies I have ever eaten. I saw one of the earlier post where you said you can swap my favorite Earth Balance Buttery Spread for the nut butters and I am going to try that too. Nut butters just don’t agree with my stomach, but I can tolerate a small amount of Almond Butter to a point. Love these cookies. What a great idea to put the sprinkles in the cookies. Less mess and you can taste the sprinkles better.
Hi… how big should the cookie dough balls be? A tablespoon, two tablespoons? Please clarify.. thank you!
Hi Kristina. I used a cookie dough scoop and those are typically a heaping tablespoon. Hope that’s helpful!
Dumb question.. What is earth balance?.. Cant do peanut butter either..
Hi Jamie! It’s not a dumb question. Earth Balance is a vegan butter spread. I can find it at Target, Walmart, health food stores and even my local grocery store. You can use it in place of butter. Also, for this recipe just use all vegan butter in place of the peanut butter. Hope you love these sprinkle cookies!
Most commercial chocolate chips are not vegan. I don’t understand why they are included.
Hi there Thea. Actually, there are several store-bought chocolate chips that are also dairy-free. Check out my dairy-free chocolate chip guide. Happy cookie eating!
Made these today. My family can’t stop eating them! I was hesitant because we are not fans of peanut butter cookies. But these cookies are DELICIOUS!
I’m so glad you liked them Bonnie! I think it’s the almond extract that hides the flavor of the peanut butter a little. I’m going to make another batch and have them for our Christmas dessert tray next week!