There has been one recipe that I just haven't been able to crack as a vegan: the chocolate chip cookie. I have made countless of recipes that claim to be the "best vegan chocolate chip cookie," but they never seem to cut it. To explain, though, my "ideal" cookie that I am trying to re-create is the subway cookie: a dough that will spread out and result in a chewy cookie. Cakey cookies are a no-go for me.

A few weeks ago, I thought I had found that recipe on Vedged Out. The cookie spread out like perfection, and the dough was delicious. They even were approved by my omnivore co-workers. The problem? It was cakey and crumbly. So crumbly the cookies at the bottom of the container I stored them in were crumbs. Though, to be honest, they were gluten free. So it was back to the drawing board.

At first, I thought the problem was the binder. The recipe used aquafaba for the egg replacer, so I decided to add some egg replacer powder to the aquafaba. I remade it. But, even just a teaspoon of egg replacer seemed to ruin the balance of the dough and resulted in a chunky and really dense cookie.  It didn't spread out at all.

Finally, I did my homework. I read up on the science of the best cookie dough. I melted the vegan margarine, I didn't overmix the dough, and I refrigerated the dough overnight. I let the dough "warm" to room temperature so that it would be less likely to hold its shape and the margarine would melt. I thought I had it.

It, like the others before, were a fail. Somehow it was the worst fail. It was a brick, and didn't melt at all.

Finally, I gave up on making these cookies gluten free (sorry, sister). I used bread flour, as recommended by the article regarding the science behind the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I also removed baking powder (again, rising = cake), melted the margarine again, and used aquafaba from beans, not chickpeas. All my fail attempts used chickpea brine, so I am inclined to think bean brine somehow improved this recipe. Basically, I think this is the most perfect the chocolate chip cookie recipe can be, for now at least. And it just goes to show how important method is.


Recipe based on Vedged Out.

Prep: 10 minutes. Resting Time: 3 hours (optional).


Makes 18-22 cookies.

You will need:

1/2 cup vegan margarine
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp aquafaba from a can of beans
1 cup plus 2 tbsp bread flour or plain flour
1 cup vegan sugar-free dark chocolate chips

Method:

1. Melt the margarine in a bowl in the microwave. Once melted, add the sugar, soda, salt, vanilla, and aquafaba. Mix together using a hand whisk.
2. Sift in the flour, mix but don't over mix. Add chocolate chips. Let rest at room temperature for a few hours (optional). If you refrigerate the dough it won't melt and ooze as much.
3. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Spoon tablespoon-size chunks of dough on a lined baking tray. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes.