Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan)

 

 

 

After about a dozen times of testing (I wanted to get them just right), these vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are finally here for you to make and take a delightful bite into them! They are everything I dreamed they would be. Thick, chewy, slightly crunchy on the outside, perfectly spread in the oven and loaded with chocolate chip cookies. Plus, they’re easy to make, pretty straight-forward and you can whip up batches of it! Let’s get into what makes these so fantastic. 

 

Old Fashioned Rolled Oats – you want to ensure that you’re using the right oats for these cookies. Old fashioned oats are the perfect texture because they thicken up the batter during the chill time, and cook perfectly to make these cookies so chewy. My #1 choice for old fashioned oats is Bob’s Red Mill’s Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. You guys already know they are my #1 choice and recommendation for gluten-free flours and so many other products, including these fantastic oats. Since they are the star of the show, you want to get the best. Not only are extremely high quality, but they are certified gluten-free too. Every time I use them, they come out perfectly! 

 

Brown sugar – brown sugar works perfectly in these cookies because it adds moisture, colour and a depth of flavour. It also reacts with the baking soda, which is essential. If you don’t have brown sugar, you can add molasses or a tablespoon of vinegar into the wet ingredients to react with the baking soda.

 

 

 

Coconut oil (or any oil) – I used coconut oil because it’s what I always have, but you can use another oil here, such as olive oil. 

 

Flax eggs – these flax eggs make a huge difference to the final product. You want to ensure that you properly make them (it’s very simple – just follow the instructions on my how to make a flax egg post). 

 

Baking soda – Every time before this that I tested these cookies, I tried them with baking powder. I can tell you, they do not work with baking powder! Baking soda makes that the cookies beautifully rise while also beautifully spreading. I love that spread because it creates the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie of my dreams. P.S. always check that your baking soda is fresh!

 

Sea salt. Also a must for enhancing flavours! Always measure your salt out. 

 

Cinnamon, vanilla extract and chocolate chips – these add-ins really take the flavour of these cookies over the top. Cinnamon adds a depth of spice, vanilla extract a sweet flavouring and chocolate chips…well they’re chocolate chips! I love mixing chocolate chips with chunks for a beautiful mix of texture, but use what you have! Every bite has a chocolate chip and that’s exactly what I was aiming for. 

 

There are a few simple steps to making these cookies. First, mix the dry ingredients together (except the Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats – we are folding these in at the end). I find that it’s much easier to just grab the bowl when I need to add them to my wet ingredients. 

 

Cream the oil and sugar together. Then for the last two minutes, add the flax eggs and beat until the mixture becomes much lighter in colour and is creamy and emulsified. Add in your dry ingredients in two batches and low the speed to low. Mix for about 30 seconds each to *just* incorporate the flour, scraping down the sides to combine completely. Even though we are using gluten-free flour and gluten-free oats, you can still end of over mixing the batter and we don’t want that. We want soft, chewy cookies. Now, fold in your oats. I use a spatula for this step. Fold them in completely, and then your chocolate chips. Chill your dough, preheat your oven, remove the dough, roll them and then bake! 

 

Make sure your flax egg is properly set up before adding it to the coconut oil and sugar. You want it to be thick and gooey so that it’s already combined before adding it to further combine. This helps with the bind of the cookies perfectly! I know I keep saying this step, but it’s because it’s crucial!  

 

Weigh out your ingredients. It makes such a difference for your baked goods and makes human error a lot less likely! 

 

Follow the mixing times. Sometimes it’s very tempting to under mix or even worse, over mix, but following the mixing times I provide make the ultimate difference. Since you’re not using butter here, the creaming process of the flax eggs, sugar and oil is crucial. I first mix the sugar and oil together for 3 minutes on medium speed (and I use the timer on my phone). Then, I add in the flax eggs and mix on the same medium speed for 2 minutes. You see the ingredients go from separate to completely emulsified and honestly it’s kind of mesmerising! 

 

 

Chill your cookie dough for the right amount of time. Don’t skip this step! This will be the difference between very spread out cookies, cookies that spread perfectly, and cookies that don’t spread at all. The chill time of 45 minutes means you can pop your cookies out, roll them into balls and then make them for the perfect result. Remember to preheat your oven within about the last 15 minutes so it lines up beautifully.

 

If you chill them for too short, they’ll spread too much. Or, if you overchill them, they won’t spread as beautifully. If you have to leave them in for longer than the 45 minutes up to 2 hours, take them out and place them on your counter for about 15 minutes to slightly soften up. If you have to leave them in longer to overnight, take them out and place them on your counter for about 30 minutes to slightly soften up. Then roll them up! 

 

Use the right ingredients! I highly recommend using the ingredients specified because they all work beautifully together. Remember specifically to use old fashioned oats!