I wanted to create a vegan chocolate chip cookies recipe that was super easy, was eggless and did not require a butter substitute. The only issue I was finding was that all the recipes I could find and put to test were lacking in flavor. I got to thinking and thought about my favorite cookie from a now closed bakery. It was a miso cookie with puffed rice, caramelized white chocolate, and coffee grounds. A weird combination but it was soooo good. So I looked to miso to put in these vegan chocolate chip cookies, and it did not disappoint.
Why Miso?
Miso makes these vegan chocolate chip cookies what they are; salty, chocolatey, and just so satisfying. You could totally skip the miso, but you really will be missing out! Alternatively you could also use white miso, if you do not have red on hand. I really recommend purchasing miso if you do not have it.
It is such a versatile ingredient with many different applications than just these vegan chocolate chip cookies. I love using it in desserts to give it a little something most people can’t put their finger on (in a good way). I promise if you buy it, I will develop more recipes with miso. My favorite brand is this red miso by Shirakiku. I usually purchase it at my local asian market but you can also purchase here.
Chocolate Discs?
Yes, I called for chocolate discs, you can purchase these at most grocery stores, but just check they are vegan (a lot of them are)! I used to use Guittard 66% Couverture Organic Dark Chocolate Wafers, but have since switched to TCHO 68% Dark Chocolate Discs. I just give them a rough chop as these are pretty big discs. But I love how I can purchase them in bulk as they’re more affordable that way and have a ton of applications besides cookies. The reason I love discs instead of chips are that they spread as they melt. They also create thin pockets of chocolate in each layer, and stay much softer at room temperature. If you do not want to buy chocolate discs, you could use chocolate bars instead and roughly chop them up.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- V
- VG
- DF
Nutrition per portion
Ingredients
- 2 cups (275g) All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ¾ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 ¼ cup (180g) Dark Chocolate Discs (60-70%)
- ½ cup (100g) Sugar
- ½ cup (110g) Dark Brown Sugar
- ½ cup (100g) Vegetable Oil or Any Other Neutral Oil
- ¼ cup plus 1 tbsp (68g) Water
- 3 tbsp (30g) Red Miso
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- Flaky Sea Salt for Topping
Method
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk together. In the same bowl add the chocolate discs into the flour and lightly toss to coat.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, dark brown sugar, oil, water, miso, and vanilla. Whisk well until the miso is completely broken up and mixture is homogenous.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until no dry pockets of flour remain.
- Cover the bowl and rest in the fridge for at least 12 hours, or up to 24 hours. This will hydrate the flour and really develop the flavor of the cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and scoop the dough out with an ice cream disher (approximately 2 ¾ ounces per scoop) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to firm up the balls of cookie dough, this will help the cookies to spread less. Optionally if you like a flatter cookie, you can skip this step.
- Bake in the oven for 14-17 minutes until lightly brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and top with flaky sea salt. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to set up. After you can remove the cookies to further cool on a cooling rack.
