These dairy free cookies are soft and chewy and you’ll never miss the butter! I used dairy free chocolate chips but you could easily make these with peanut butter morsels.
When we learned that my little guy couldn’t have dairy – I panicked! Y’all, not only did this kid live on dairy, but would literally pick up a butter stick and eat it. My first reaction was to go to the store and buy as many dairy free foods and sweets as I could find. However, I eventually realized that wasn’t sustainable. Instead, I started to dabble into dairy free baking- and boy am I glad!
I truly am not a natural baker, so the thought of making my own recipes overwhelmed me. You’ll be glad to know that these cookies are every bit as easy and good as the original!
How are dairy free cookies different?
Instead of shortening or butter, I used a combination of coconut oil and dairy free butter. My go to brand is Myokos. Their vegan butter sticks are awesome for baking. If you’d like to see my review of all the different dairy free butter options you can read it here. *this is an affiliate link meaning I make a percentage of the sale by introducing this product to you.
Nutrition note: You’ll find some major differences in diets that are dairy free vs diets that are lactose free. You can read more about it here! This recipe is for dairy free lactose free cookies. If you are looking for a low lactose cookie recipe, you could probably still use butter as it is a low lactose product.
I also use either dairy free chocolate chips (this enjoy life is a good brand) or carob chips.
What ingredients can you substitute?
These cookies contain eggs, but you can make a vegan cookie version by using egg replacers like apple sauce, flaxseed egg, or chia seed egg. You can also make them gluten free.
Nutrition note: Eggs are not actually a dairy product. You can read my entire blog post I wrote about why eggs are not dairy here. The bottom line: Eggs are typically safe for a person with a dairy allergy. The problem? Both eggs and dairy are in the top allergan groups so often run together. This is a great article by the Mayo clinic regarding egg allergies. If you are making egg free chocolate chip cookies due to an allergy, you’ll need to use an egg replacer and carob chips.
If you need an option for gluten free dairy free cookies, you can simply substitute a gluten free flour. You can exchange cup for cup of rice flour or all purpose gluten -free flour.
How to make Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies – Step by Step.
- Gather ingredients. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix dairy free butter (softened) and coconut oil together. You can hand mix or beat for about 30 seconds (I usually mix by hand).
- Add granulated sugar, brown sugar and baking soda. Continue to beat until combined. I often still mix by hand here.
- Add eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly beat in flour until all combined. I typically had ½ cup at a time.
- Stir in dairy free chocolate chips.
- Using a small ice cream scoop, place dough onto a greased baking sheet. I use this dairy free cooking spray.
- Bake for 7 1/2 – 8 minutes. I always check at minute 7 then usually add a minute to the time – better safe than sorry! If you are making large cookies, you’ll need to increase the time to 10-12 minutes. (If you’re doing larger cookies you may require a little extra time.)
- Let cookies cool and enjoy with some dairy free milk!
Tips for making dairy free cookies soft and chewy.
It’s true. Butter is important in baking. If you care about the properties of butter be sure to check out my dweeby food science posts here. The bottom line, butter acts as a lubricant in baking recipes. It keeps the food product smooth by lubricating other structural elements.
The fat also creates something called mouthfeel that is hard to replace. However, I have found that a mixture of vegan butter and coconut oil does the trick! If you try a recipe and that doesn’t work, here are few other options.
Options for dairy free butter replacements:
- Crisco
- Avocado
- Applesauce
Can’t wait to hear how you liked this dairy free chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Dairy Free Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup vegan butter I recommend Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks.
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 12 oz dairy free semi-sweet morsels
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl beat vegan butter and coconut oil for about a minute (hand beat) or 30 seconds if using a mixer.
- Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, and baking soda. Beat until combined.
- Beat in eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly beat in flour until all combined (I mix 1/2 cup in at time, until mixed).
- Stir in 12 oz of chocolate chips (yep, that’s en entire bag!).
- Spoon dough onto foil lined baking sheet. I prefer smaller cookies so I use a small scoop but it’s all a matter of preference.
- Bake for 7 1/2 – 8 minutes. (If you’re doing larger cookies you may require a little extra time.)
Looking for other tasty dairy free desserts? Check out these recipes that are safe for all the big allergans!
Dairy free vegan oatmeal cookies.
https://thehiddenveggies.com/vegan-oatmeal-cookies/
Dairy free almond fudge ice cream.
https://www.acouplecooks.com/mocha-almond-fudge-dairy-free-vegan-ice-cream/
Dairy free french silk pie.
Let me know if you have any questions! Living dairy free isn’t as hard as it sounds!
Happy eating!
Kate
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