Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies » LeelaLicious (2024)

These Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies are a dairy-free version of everyone's favorite classic cookie recipe. They are a soft and chewy cookie filled with chocolate chips for a decadent sweet treat!

Originally published June 2013. Last updated April 2020

About these Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

These coconut oil chocolate chip cookies are tender and chewy and studded with chocolate chips. They are a little unusual in that the chocolate chip cookie dough is made with coconut oil rather than butter. It imparts a really great coconut flavor that makes the cookies incredibly addictive.

Otherwise, these are quite similar to ordinary chocolate chip cookies in that the dough includes all-purpose flour combined with white sugar, brown sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, and baking soda. Readers have tried substituting gluten free flour blends with great success in this chocolate chip cookies recipe.

The white sugar provides that signature sweetness while the brown sugar adds a caramel-like depth of flavour and softness to the cookie texture. Baking soda helps the chocolate chip cookies puff up and lightens their texture.

You can use any vanilla extract in your cookie dough that you can get your hands on, but real vanilla is best. Try to avoid artificial vanilla flavorings. Pure vanilla extract just has a much better taste than the artificial kind.

Can Coconut Oil be Used in Cookies?

Obviously, the answer to this question is yes! Coconut oil is tremendous in this coconut oil chocolate chip cookie recipe because it adds a hint of coconut flavor. It is also excellent if you are doing dairy-free or vegan baking, as butter wouldn't be a suitable ingredient in that case

A major difference between butter and coconut oil is their melting point. Butter's melting point is 32–35°C (90–95°F) and coconut oil's melting point is 24°C (76°F).

To be able to incorporate the coconut oil with the other ingredients in this coconut oil chocolate chip recipe, it needs to be liquid or at least somewhat softened. If it is winter (or your kitchen is just cold) and the coconut oil is solid at room temperature, you will need to melt it first before incorporating it into these chocolate chip cookies. You can do that in a small saucepan on the stove or in short bursts in the microwave.

Chilling Cookie Dough

Once you have finished making the cookie dough, it should be chilled to ensures that the coconut oil doesn't completely melt out of the cookies, making them spread too much and resulting in too flat and completely crispy cookies.

Don't chill the coconut oil cookie dough in one big blob though. Because coconut oil turns rock-solid in the fridge, it will be impossible to shape individual cookie dough balls from the chilled dough batch. Instead, use a cookie scoop or shape cookie dough balls by and chill those.

You can even freeze the individual dough balls to have a stash on hand that you can freshly bake up as needed. Then place the cold (or frozen) cookie dough on a lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven.

Egg Versus Flax Egg

The only component of this cookie recipe that makes it not vegan is the fact that it contains an egg. I have given the option of using a flax egg, too, though, which makes the recipe entirely suitable for vegans. An egg or flax egg is essential in these cookies because it helps bind the mixture.

Read more about how to make a flax egg substitute HERE. The flax egg version of these cookies usually is a little flatter and crispier, but still absolutely delicious.

The Benefits of Cornstarch in Baked Goods

Another key ingredient of this recipe is cornstarch. I have tried these cookies with all-purpose flour and cornstarch and with just the all-purpose flour. While the version without starch is good, the cookies have a little bit of a crisp to them, especially on the first day. I like my cookies soft and prefer the recipe including cornstarch.

What Kind of Chocolate Chips Should I Use?

Feel free to use whichever chocolate chips you like the best or what you have on hand. Dark, semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips are the classics, however, white chocolate chips, peanut butter, or butterscotch chips could work too. If you would like to get extra fancy, you could even mix different types together to add to your cookie dough.

Another great option would be to chop your favorite chocolate bar into chocolate chunks and use these as add-ins.

Lining the Baking Sheet

Whenever I tried to bake the coconut oil chocolate chip cookies directly on the sheet, the bottoms browned too quickly (even at a lower temperature). Once the tops were set (they don't have to be fully baked), the bottoms were too dark even before the total time was up. I always use parchment paper or a silicon mat like the Silpat to line my baking sheets.

Original Photos from 2013

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