I just gave my Aquafaba Chocolate Chip Cookies a makeover and now they are aqua-fabulous! If you are looking for vegan chocolate chip cookies, please give them a try.
Aquafaba, as you may know, is the liquid found in a can of chickpeas. It is a useful liquid. You can whip it into meringue, add to non-dairy ice cream to make it fluffy, and use it as a binder in baking and cooking. I haven't always been diligent about saving it, but now that I have this cookie recipe I am. I drain the chickpeas, put the aquafaba into a little plastic container and keep it around until chocolate chip cookie time. Which is all the time!
Whipped Aquafaba
Update: I now whip it! In this recipe, you just add 44 grams of whipped aquafaba, then you'll whip it some more with the butter, shortening and sugar. Here's a photo of some whipped aquafaba. An 8 oz (small) can of chickpeas gave me about 3 oz (84 grams) of aquafaba, so a full size can will probably yield closer to 6 oz. In other words, you'll have lots of leftover aquafaba.
Here is the new improved recipe, which will give you cookies that are crinkly and chewy and have crispy edges. As for flavor, you won't miss the egg, but you will taste the vegan butter and the brown sugar.
Soy Free Earth Balance Buttery Stick
The Soy Free Earth Balance Butter Sticks taste a little better than the ones with soy, which is why I use them. If you can only find the regular Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, that is fine. If you can't find Earth Balance, you can use a different vegan butter. I've just had really good luck with the buttery sticks, so I recommend them. The tub style Earth Balance also works, especially if you combine it with shortening.
Spectrum or Other Trans Fat Free Shortening
The texture will be firmer and crunchier (at least around the edges) if you use a combination of vegan butter and shortening rather than just vegan butter. I recommend 8 tablespoons (114 grams) of vegan butter and 4 tablespoons (48 grams) shortening.
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chunk (or Chip)
As usual, King Arthur's Measure for Measure comes through! You can make these gluten-free by substituting the equivalent weight of Measure for Measure. I'm sure Bob's Red Mill's 1:1 would work too, though I haven't tested. If using Dove brand, make sure it's the kind with xanthan gum, as both Measure for Measure and Bob's have the xanthan gum right in the mix.
Recipe
Aquafaba Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons tablespoons vegan butter (Earth Balance Soy Free Sticks or tub) or any brand (114 grams)
- 4 tablespoons Spectrum shortening (or any shortening) (48 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 44 grams of whipped aquafaba (see note)
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or the equivalent amount of gluten-free 1:1 flour (such as King Arthur Measure for Measure) (260 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt See note
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup oats, old fashioned or quick (optional)
- ⅓ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)
- 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips more if desired
Instructions
- With an electric mixer,beat the softened vegan butter, shortening both sugars and vanilla until creamy. Beat in the aquafaba.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cream of tartar.
- Add flour mixture to batter and stir until very well mixed, then stir in the oats, nuts and chocolate chips.
- Using a medium size cookie scoop, shape dough into 28 balls (or just keep them in the shape of the scooper). Cover and chill for an hour or until ready to use or bake right away.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange cookie dough pieces on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet spacing about 3 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes (these are better underbaked than over!) or until golden brown around the edges.
- Optional: As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, set reserved Oreo pieces on hot cookie, crème side down to they will adhere. If the cookies have spread during baking, gently push edges inward with inverted tip of a spatula.
- Let cool until firm enough to remove from baking sheet.
d says
I made these again yesterday and let the dough balls chill in the frig for 24 hours. I baked them off today. This time I used the organic sugars and still used the aquafaba. They baked up a little thicker so I didn't need to push the edges in to get a good thickness. Great recipe! Thanks also for the metric measurements.
Anna says
Oh, I'm glad you used the whole wheat flour trick! It is not mandatory, but I think it adds just a bit of flavor without making the cookies taste healthy or wheat-y.
And for the egg, you just completely omit the aquafaba. The aquafaba is just a substitute, but the original recipe is made with egg.
d says
Thanks for your tips. I am going to try them again today or tomorrow and chill the dough overnight. I only chilled the first batch of dough for 5 hours. Are you going to add the 44 grams of egg to the recipe as written, or in place of the aquafaba. I will try your tip about pushing the edges in, just so they look a little better. Great flavor/texture as written though. I also love the bit of whole wheat flour in there.
Anna says
D, I'm so glad to hear that. I love them too. I made a second batch using all Earth Balance and that worked out quite well, though the cookies were just a tad softer and had more Earth Balance flavor. Definitely nobody would know they were made with aquafaba, but now I might try them again with the Earth Balance, Nutiva and 44 grams of lightly beaten egg. The original version is all-butter and that is fine, but I think the Earth Balance makes the cookie slightly softer, and keeping the egg amount low makes for a less cakey cookie. About the edges, it really makes the cookies look nice if you push them inward while they are warm. And the cookies are better when made with dough that's been chilled overnight.
d says
I made these today and loved them!! Another great recipe, Anna. I used the Earth Balance and Nutiva, but didn't have the organic sugars so used regular. These have great flavor and don't taste at all like just a cookie for those with allergies. I could easily take these to a pot luck and no one would know. Mine were a smidge flatter than yours, so next time I'll take your advice and push edges inward while still warm. Thanks!!
Sonya says
You're welcome! That makes sense!
Katrina says
I've always been Leary of using that stuff from the van of beans. Hmm. My vegan son eats Oreos like they are Lays potato chips. He does make an exception when labels just say "may contain traces" or made in a same factory with non vegan things. Some I'm sure are more strict.
Anna says
Thanks! I don't know how that happens, but sometimes it makes me check a box to allow posts, so of course I don't check it because I don't realize I have to. Normally it puts the box there automatically.
Sonya says
Wow, these look really good! I didn't see a comment field for yesterday's blog post, BTW.