I started making chocolate chip cookies from the back of the Nestle bag for “Tollhouse Cookies” since I was a kid as my mom wasn’t really a baker. They seemed easy enough and after a few tries I got pretty good at making them. They bring such nostalgia and even though I have other chocolate chip cookie recipes, this is the one I made from memory. When I decided to be vegan, I tried substituting things for eggs and was never really satisfied with the results – until now. I’ve perfected a recipe for these classic cookies and I know they’ll become a favorite for you too!
What are “Tollhouse” cookies?
Toll House chocolate chip cookies have an interesting origin story. They were first created by Ruth Wakefield in the 1930s. Legend has it that Ruth, who owned the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, ran out of baker’s chocolate while making cookies for her guests. In a moment of inspiration, she substituted broken pieces of Nestle’s semi-sweet chocolate into the cookie dough, expecting them to melt and create chocolate cookies. Instead, the chocolate retained its shape, giving birth to the classic chocolate chip cookie. The recipe became a hit, and Nestle even bought the rights to print it on their chocolate bars, leading to the creation of Nestle Toll House chocolate chips.
What do I need to make these?
- Vegan butter. Use a stick style denser vegan butter if you can. Some spreads that are very soft contain too much water and the cookies won’t have the right texture.
- Vegan sugars. This classic recipe calls for equal amounts of brown and cane sugars. Choosing organic ensures it’s vegan or look for one that states it’s vegan on the package. A lot of sugar is processed with bone char as a filter but animals are not killed for this purpose alone. It’s a personal choice and it’s in so many products it can hard to avoid.
- Flax eggs. I make what I call a “rich” flax egg by adding some fat to the water and flax meal. Think about it. Real eggs have fat and the flax acts like the whites so this forms a more accurate substitute in my opinion.
- Dry ingredients. All purpose flour is best and although the original recipe called for only 2 1/4 cups, I’ve found increasing it to 2 1/2 was the sweet spot in replicating the texture I remembered. Adding cornstarch does wonders for baked goods in general and adding it here helps give the cookies a chewy inside. Baking soda remains the same amount as the original recipe and for salt, I prefer Diamond Crystals kosher salt but use your favorite.
- Chocolate chips. The classic recipe calls for Nestle semisweet morsels and they do make a plant based version now. You can use semi or bittersweet (or even a combo!) so use your favorite brand.
How do I shape and bake?
I tried a few ways to shape the cookies to see which gave a better result in my opinion so I tried using a standard ice cream scoop leaving the bottoms flat, rolling the same size of dough from the scoop into a ball and another method I had seen online and that was breaking the ball in half and piecing it back together seam side up. Spoiler alert, the last method proved best to me making cookies that were perfectly mounded with ripply edges.
A few more things I do is to use a heavy metal baking pan that heats more evenly and I only bake until just done then I rap the pan on the counter a few times when they come out of the oven before letting them cool. Another tip for perfectly round cookies is to use a round item (I used a glass dish or even a larger round cookie cutter would work) and cover the cookie and twirl the glass or cutter around the edges quickly while the cookies are hot from the oven and this gets them perfectly round. Not necessary but they all look perfect. You can also add some extra chocolate chips when they come right out of the oven so they look nicer and full of chocolate! I hope you enjoy these classic cookies. They take me right back to when I was a kid and hope they do the same for you.
I’ve been vegan for 12 years and this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ve found. I use Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer because I don’t keep ground flax seed on hand and they turn out great. I’ve used Miyoko’s and Earth Balance sticks and didn’t find a difference between the 2, so maybe stick with EB since it’s cheaper ☺️
Love that! Egg replacer works just fine as you noted. Thanks so much for the kind review! 🍪
What can I use instead of cornstarch?
You can use arrowroot powder as a substitute or just more regular flour. Hope that helps!