Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

These Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies will take your cookie enjoying experience to an entirely a new level! Imagine freshly baked cookies coming from the oven with warm, melted chocolate chips, and tender, buttery cookies with a crispy crust. It’s cookie eating perfection in every chocolate-infused bite!

Cookies but Better!

Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies take the traditional cookie recipe and turns it on its head. Well, that doesn’t sound very appetizing, but you get the picture. Something super made superfluous! If you’re into superpower, flavorful chocolate chip cookies, check out my Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies. Or how about my Vegan Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Some days you have to treat yourself. That’s my theory, at least. And sometimes a treat means presents. Don’t you just love presents?  🎁

Another theory of mine? There’s no reason to wait for someone else to give you a present. You can give one to yourself.

That said, I love gifts that can be shared too. That means making a batch of these Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies means I can have both — a gift for myself and one to be shared as well.

Why You’ll Love Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, first things first. Our friend Bob said these were his favorite chocolate chip cookies of all time. I’m not sure if Bob is a connoisseur of fine cookies, but I’m still going with it.

Honestly, if you can make vegan treats that tickles the taste buds of your typical omnivore friend like Bob, then you’re doing just fine. That’s the way I look at it.

Shawn agrees, by the way. He said to me today, What’s in these cookies? They’re really good. My response? Coconut oil. Who knew that something as simple as coconut oil could create such a unique, tasty cookie.

Freezing Cookies

I love freezing these Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies and then reheating them right before serving so people can enjoy that “fresh-from-the-oven” feeling. Also, freezing the cookie dough balls is a great idea too. Then you can bake-and-serve just about any time you want.

These cookies are made with coconut oil rather than vegan butter or peanut butter. I was worried that the cookies would have a strong coconut flavor from the oil. The good news? They don’t.

In the end, it wasn’t the flavor that gave me fits. It was the texture. I’ll confess, it took me a few batches to get the recipe just right. The first batch kind of spread out on the pan.

I followed a self-imposed rule when using a new ingredient for cookies: I made only a few at a time so I could adjust the batter as I went along. After a few audibles on the line of scrimmage I landed with a touchdown in the end zone — a perfect chocolate chip cookie with a crispy golden crust on the outside and a gooey chocolate chip center.

What is Coconut Oil?

I’m glad you asked. You get coconut oil from pressing the white part from the inside of a coconut, otherwise referred to as the meat. You might recognize it most as coconut flakes, because that’s how we most commonly see it. That coconut meat has a high fat ratio, over 80%. That’s a lot, which is why coconut oil is one of the few plant-based sources of saturated fat.

If you’d like an example of cookies made without coconut oil, here’s my more traditional (and still very delicious) vegan chocolate chip cookies.

Is Coconut Oil Good for You?

Another great question. Wow. You’re on a roll. Most experts for years said that we should avoid saturated fats like the plague. They’re not too good for us. But science is always evolving and now there is some evidence that seems to show that the saturated found in natural products like coconut, may have some health benefits. I think the jury is still out, though, which is one reason why we still use coconut oil in moderation.

The good news is that coconut oil does not cause an increase in inflammation as animal-based saturated fats do. However, there is some evidence that shows the saturated fats in coconut oil can increase cholesterol. That’s why it’s best to consume coconut oil, and things made from it, like these cookies, in moderation.

Of course, that’s not necessarily rocket science. Right? I think we all know by now that things like cookies should be eaten in moderation.

This Recipe Made Better

There’s a lot of things that make me happy, including creating delicious vegan recipes to share with you. Want to know something that makes me even happier than that? When you take that recipe and adapt it to your tastes, thereby making it your own!

If you’d like some ideas on changing this recipe, here are some of my thoughts to get the party started:

• Add some chopped almonds to the dough
• Why not include some actual coconut flakes to the dough as well?
• Make these double chocolate by adding cocoa powder to the mix
• I love mini cookies, so you could make these smaller, just be sure to reduce the baking time
• Sprinkle some coconut extract into the batter as well for extra coconut flavor

You get where I’m going with all this. Right? This recipe is made better, when the missing ingredient is added: YOU! Add your own flair to this recipe and every other recipe you come across.

Now, you know what goes well with a cookie? How about some Vegan Skinny Hot Chocolate? I know. It’s perfect!

Actually, these cookies are extra-special because they have another secret ingredient. I attended a food blogging conference where I was able to sample some very delicious dark chocolate chips. They’re called Scharffen Berger and you can read more about them on my Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Guide.

I’m a small town-girl living in a midwestern suburb, so the idea that I could be in love with dark chocolate is still a mystery to me. But, here I am, loving the stuff! Besides, there are definite health benefits to dark chocolate thanks to flavonoids, antioxidants, and a bunch of other phytonutrients too.

Finally, we hope you love these Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies as much as we do! If you decide to make them, snap a photo and use #namelymarly to share them with us on Instagram. We love seeing your creations!

Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

These Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies are crispy in all the right places and sports a chewy, chocolatey middle, where it counts.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 32

Calories: 134kcal

Author: Namely Marly

Ingredients

• 1 cup Coconut Oil room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 flax egg 1T ground flax, 1T cornstarch, 3T water
• ½ cup applesauce , unsweetened
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 - 2 tablespoons plant-based milk*
• 12 oz bag dairy-free chocolate chips

Instructions

• Heat your oven to 375F.
• Cream together the coconut oil and sugars. You could use a mixer here, but the upper arm workout is great if you want to go for it.
• Add the flax egg, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
• In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined. Add the plant-based milk, one tablespoon at a time and stir until you have a nice cookie dough consistency.
• Add chocolate chips. Stir to combine.
• Place rounded tablespoons of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes until cookies are nice and gold around the edges.
• Remove from oven and wait for a minute before placing on a wire wrack to cool.
• Repeat these steps until you've worked your way through all the delicious dough.

Notes

* If the dough is too dry, add a tablespoon additional plant-based milk.

Also, I found a few other sites offering tasty chocolate chip cookies made with coconut oil. I hope you’ll check them out as well.

• Picky Palate’s Bye, Bye Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Or how about these Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies by Cheeky Kitchen?
• Visions of Sugar Plums shares these Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oh She Glows goes raw with these Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Take a look at these Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies by yours truly

You know, there’s no end to the chocolatey goodness offered up in the form of a simple cookie. Whatever cooking you’re treating yourself to, enjoy!

We recently updated this Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies post with new photography. Once you see a sample of our old photos, I’m sure you’ll agree an update was a good idea.