Vegan Chocolate Sugar Cookies
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Vegan chocolate sugar cookies are rich, fudgy, soft, and chewy! They’re moist and gooey inside with a crackly, sparkly, sugar-coated crust. The easy recipe is dairy-free, eggless, and gluten-free friendly. They are a delicious chocolate cookie for holidays. Bake them for Christmas, cookie boxes, gifting, and holiday parties!
I absolutely love baking sugar cookies during the holiday season. Something about the sparkly, sugar-coated exterior just shouts Christmas time! I’ve already shared my classic Vegan Sugar Cookies and Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies, but now it’s time for chocolate to shine.
These Vegan Chocolate Sugar Cookies are rich, chocolatey, and simply irresistible. They are crackly and crispy on the outside, yet soft and fudgy on the inside. They rise beautifully while baking, which makes the texture reminiscent of brownies.
You will also be happy to hear how EASY these are to make. We’ll use basic pantry staples for the recipe – like flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. The chocolate cookie dough is made with one bowl, requires no chilling, and it’s ready in about 15 minutes.
If you’re looking for a way to spread some love this holiday season, I highly recommend baking these sugar cookies for your family and friends! You can pair them along with my other sugar cookies for a sugar-cookie-filled goodie box. Alternatively, create a chocolate box along with Vegan Hot Chocolate Cookies and Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. What better way to make your loved ones smile?!
These chocolate sugar cookies are:
- Vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, and gluten-free friendly
- Rich, fudgy, soft, and chewy inside
- Crispy, crackly, and coated in granulated sugar
- Easy to make // uses a no chill cookie dough
- A chocolate holiday cookie for Christmas festivities!
Ingredients in dairy-free chocolate sugar cookies
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour is best for these chocolate cookies. However, if you need them to be gluten-free, you can swap it with gluten-free all-purpose flour. I suggest the Bob’s Red Mill brand.
- Vegan butter: Vegan buttery spread, such as the Earth Balance brand, is my favorite option for dairy-free butter.
- Sugar: Both brown sugar and granulated sugar add sweetness. More granulated sugar coats the chocolate cookie dough before baking.
- Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder creates a rich chocolate flavor. I recommend natural cocoa powder, not dutch-processed cocoa powder. If your label says “cocoa power,” it is the natural variety. On the other hand, if it says “processed with alkali” that means it’s dutch-processed.
- Non-dairy milk: Use any non-dairy milk (such as almond milk or oat milk).
- Baking soda: This helps the cookies rise and crack while baking.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla adds sweetness and enhances the cocoa flavor.
- Salt: Salt deepens the overall chocolate flavor.
How to make vegan chocolate sugar cookies
For the full ingredient measurements and step-by-step instructions, scroll down to view the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Tips for making the best chocolate sugar cookies
Weigh the flour. Use a food scale to get the most accurate results. These cookies require 204g of all-purpose flour. If you don’t have a food scale, make sure you gently spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Then, scrape off any excess. Do not scoop and pack flour into the cup or you’ll use too much.
Use the middle rack. Cookies bake evenly when you use the middle rack in your oven. This requires a little extra time and patience, but I strongly suggest baking them one tray at a time and avoiding the upper/lower racks.
Don’t over-bake the cookies. For a truly soft and chewy texture, remove cookies from the oven while the center still appears a bit underbaked. They will continue to cook and firm up while cooling on the baking sheet.
Drop the baking sheet. This may seem like a strange tip, but it’s a neat little trick to achieve a crispy crust with a soft, gooey interior! Once you remove the cookies from the oven, lift the baking sheet about 2 feet above the countertop. Drop it onto the counter. Repeat 2-3 times. This will force air to release through the cracks, de-puff, and leave the cookies chewy inside.
How to store vegan chocolate sugar cookies
Store these chocolate sugar cookies inside a tightly sealed container or ziplock bag at room temperature. Enjoy within 3-5 days. If you would like to save them longterm, you can store the cookie dough or baked cookies inside the freezer:
- How to freeze chocolate sugar cookie dough: Place the balls of chocolate cookie dough (before rolling in sugar) inside a ziplock bag. Squeeze out as much air from the bag as possible before sealing. Store in the freezer and use within 3 months. Let thaw to room temperature, then roll in sugar and bake as instructed.
- How to freeze chocolate sugar cookies: Place the baked chocolate cookies inside a sealed ziplock bag. Store in the freezer and enjoy within 3 months. Let them thaw to room temperature before enjoying.
If you try these Vegan Chocolate Sugar Cookies, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a rating and comment below! Ready for more? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Instagram and YouTube!
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Vegan Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 15 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan chocolate sugar cookies are rich, fudgy, soft, and chewy! These chocolate holiday cookies are rolled in granulated sugar for a crispy, crackly, sparkly crust. The center is moist, gooey, and tender. The no chill chocolate cookie dough is quick, easy, and made with one bowl. They’re dairy-free, eggless, and gluten-free friendly. Enjoy this dessert for Christmas, cookie boxes, holiday parties, and more!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, slightly softened (112g)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (144g)
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed (53g)
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (gluten-free if needed) (204g), sifted
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder, not dutch-processed**, sifted
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the vegan butter, sugar, and brown sugar to a large bowl. Using a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes). Add non-dairy milk and vanilla extract, then cream together once more until combined.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. I highly recommend sifting the flour and cocoa powder to remove any clumps. Stir together until evenly combined.
- Scoop the chocolate cookie dough into balls.
- Add granulated sugar to a bowl. Roll each ball of cookie dough in the granulated sugar, coating the entire surface. Transfer to the baking sheet.
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes on the middle rack in the oven. For soft and chewy cookies, remove them from the oven while they still appear slightly underbaked. Slam the baking sheet against the countertop 2-3 times. The cookies will continue to cook, de-puff, and firm up while cooling on the baking sheet. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to measure flour: Do not scoop and pack flour into the measuring cup. Instead, gently spoon the flour into a measuring cup and scrape off any excess with a flat object (like the back of a knife). For the most accurate measurements, I recommend weighing the flour using a food scale.
- How to store cookies: Store cookies inside a sealer container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-5 days.
- How to freeze chocolate sugar cookie dough: Place the balls of chocolate cookie dough (before rolling in sugar) inside a ziplock bag. Squeeze out as much air from the bag as possible before sealing. Store in the freezer and use within 3 months. Let thaw to room temperature, then roll in sugar and bake as instructed.
- How to freeze chocolate sugar cookies: Place the baked chocolate cookies inside a sealed ziplock bag. Store in the freezer and enjoy within 3 months. Let them thaw to room temperature before enjoying.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 134
- Sugar: 16g
- Fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 1g
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These look delicious. I’m wondering if you have some cookie recipes where the % of sugar to flour is lower. My husband is a 2-cookie guy, so that’d be a lot of sugar for him for “having a cookie” (which for him means two! LOL) Also, these look so good he might want 3! 😉
Thanks 🙂
Hi, Kathryn! LOL I understand that problem 🙂 Right now, I am sharing more indulgent holiday cookie recipes (so they are definitely higher in sugar). But if you want a healthier/lower sugar option, I’d recommend my classic Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies as they’re refined sugar-free and made with wholesome ingredients. In the New Year, I plan to share “healthier” cookie recipes that contain less sugar overall though. Enjoy!