Perfect Chocolate Chip 'Tollhouse' Cookies!
Tollhouse cookies are the best in the world. Don't challenge me on this, because I refuse to believe otherwise. When I was little my Mom's chocolate chip cookies made me melt. I would come home in a crisp fall day to dozens of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the table, just waiting to be enjoyed. Her recipe was handwritten on an old index card, yellowed with age. It turns out that my great grandmother must've just copied down the Nestle recipe, but thats okay. They were still so, so good.
I decided the perfect vegan chocolate chip cookie had to be just like Mom's was- chewy, soft, not too sweet, and with a hint of crunch along the edges. The cookies match that. I've fooled plenty of people into thinking they're just plain ol' chocolate chippers...and they are, only considerably healthier!
Ingredients:
1 cup vegan butter or vegetable shortening, straight from the fridge if available 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a stand mixer, cream together butter, vanilla, sugar, and brown sugar. Add applesauce to mixture and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, baking soda, baking powder, and flour. Add dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing all the while. Once dough reaches a uniform consistency, remove from stand mixer and fold in 1/2 cup (or more to your liking!) chocolate chips. Roll 1 inch balls or drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto greased or lined baking sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Makes 22-24 cookies. Edges should be golden and chocolate should be gooey. Enjoy! 
33 Comments
chalynda
4/18/2012 08:01:25 pm
how many cookies does this make?
Amber St. Peter
4/19/2012 01:05:19 am
Whoops! Forgot to add that part! With about 1-11/2 inch balls of dough I get about 20-24 cookies.
chalynda
4/19/2012 02:48:52 am
thank you!
sarah-mai
link
4/20/2012 09:58:54 am
These look amazing! Great blog.
Elle
4/24/2012 04:48:22 am
I've tried several vegan chocolate chip cookies and they always are so disappointing. These are AMAZING!! My whole family liked them and they are not big on vegan food. I made a batch of the dough and had it over the course of a week. I would pull it out each night and make a few. Thank you!!!
chalynda
4/29/2012 09:04:03 am
I made these a few days ago and they were sooo freaking good I had to make them again! One problem, do you know how many calories there are in these cookies? I'm trying to lose weight and although one cookie wont (and hasnt) set me back I'm still curious(sp?)
Amber St. Peter
link
4/29/2012 11:47:44 pm
Hi Chalynda, I'm SO happy you enjoyed them! I don't actually calculate the nutrition information for any of my recipes...I don't personally believe in counting calories or fat, so I simply don't check. I did find this recipe calculator (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator) so maybe try putting the recipe in there, it should give you everything you need. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but thank you for asking and visiting the site!!
chalynda
5/2/2026 04:38:40 am
thx =)
Katie Bottenhorn
8/27/2012 05:26:18 am
I did the calculations with all brown sugar (light brown) and it's about 154 calories per cookie
chalynda
6/30/2012 10:46:03 pm
Did you change the first ingredient? It was a cup of vegan butter right? Why did you change it to vegetable shortening? lol sorry for all the questions it just threw me off!
Amber
link
7/1/2026 06:46:14 am
Sorry about that, Chalynda! The first ingredient used to be 'earth balance', but I realized that not everyone can find that specific brand and I didn't want to confuse them. Also, I prefer vegetable shortening because it is soy-free, but using earth balance is still perfectly acceptable in this recipe.
Theresa
link
7/10/2025 06:27:31 am
These look great, I am still searching for the perfect vegan chocolate chip cookie, will definitely give this one a try. Beautiful pictures on your site!
Amber
link
7/11/2025 12:46:40 am
Well we hope these ones make the cut!! Thank you, I'm working on my photography skills and they seem to be getting better....very slowly! :)
Michelle
11/28/2012 02:46:47 pm
Thanks, Amber!
Shawn
link
12/20/2012 11:01:31 pm
Hi, I'm wanting to make this recipe for my vegan friends during the holidays. Normally, I do chocolate chip cookie bars. Do you think this vegan one would adapt well to bar versus dropped?
Amber
link
12/23/2012 02:21:10 am
Hi Shawn! I haven't tried it in bar form but I see no reason why it shouldn't work out beautifully. Let me know how it goes!
Shawn
link
12/23/2012 11:18:41 pm
Thank you Amber for getting back to me! I can't t wait to share these delights with my vegan friends; they will so enjoy them;). I will share how they turned out sometime after the New Year.
Shawn
link
12/31/2012 11:13:09 pm
Wow those are delicious, amazingly so, and I'm an omnivore! I put the batter into a 13x9 pan and baked them at 350* for about 35minutes and they turned out great. I also used 11/4c. choc chips and 1c. walnuts, scrumptious.
Amber
link
2/2/2026 12:57:30 pm
That is so great to hear! I'm so glad you (& your vegan friends) enjoyed them!! I'm trying it your way next time!
Catherine
link
5/16/2014 10:43:05 am
Is it essential that one uses a stand up mixer? I do not have one and would love to give these cookies a try!! Thanks
Amber St. Peter
5/16/2014 11:46:49 am
Definitely not. Go ahead and mix it up by hand!
Erin
9/25/2014 02:44:15 am
Mine turned out too flat! I wonder what I did wrong...
Jessica
11/19/2014 03:58:27 pm
I 've made this recipe a couple times now and I have to say THANK YOU for providing a vegan cookie recipe that is actually reliable. The very first time I made these, I used a little too much applesauce and they still came out delicious! Also, I sub solid coconut oil instead of shortening/butter, in case anyone cares.
Stephanie
link
12/8/2026 03:16:06 am
These are really pretty good! Thanks for posting this. :)
carmen
12/17/2014 09:47:25 am
Can you replace the whole wheat flour with gluten free flour equal parts? I have the robin hood GF and I would love to make these cookies for the family.
Amber
link
12/27/2014 12:35:32 am
Yup! We often sub out GF flour. Our favorite is a mix of teff & almond flours. Let us know how they turn out!
Gina
1/21/2015 09:25:46 am
Can you use just reg. white all purpose flour?
Amber
link
1/21/2015 12:18:10 pm
Hey Gina! I haven't TRIED it, but I don't see why it would give you any problems. Good luck! :)
Vanessa
link
5/23/2015 04:07:38 pm
Thanks for this awesome recipe! We always make our tried and true vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies but low on oats and high on need for cookies - we needed a classic recipe! These turned out delish! We will definitely make these again!!
Kate
7/16/2015 10:29:24 am
I don't know where I messed up but my cookies melted into a giant flat sheet. I used coconut oil instead of shortening so maybe that was it. :(
k
4/12/2025 12:26:51 pm
These are soooo good!! The perfect chocolate chip cookies, totally reminiscent of my formerly beloved Tollhouse cookies (but tastier in my opinion)!
Paula Vasquez
7/26/2016 04:06:10 pm
I have been making these chocolate chip cookies for a few years now,they are the best chocolate chip cookies, My family and friends have had ! They ask me to make them on many occasions and there are the first things to disappear, I wanted A recipe that you didn't have to add too many things like flaxseed and other items ,I just love them thank you so much.
Liza Gottlieb
4/17/2018 11:23:51 am
Made these for a special order- EXCELLENT!!!🍪🍪🍪 Leave a Reply. |
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