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Dive into a bowl of this creamy, dreamy edible vegan cookie dough! Made with dairy-free plant-based ingredients, it’s packed with rich chocolate chips and ready to satisfy your cravings in the tastiest way possible.

Vegan Cookie Dough
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Why we love this recipe

Sure, cookies are tasty. But give us cookie dough any day! That gooey, salty sweet texture mixed with the crunch of the chocolate chips is the ultimate treat. Turns out, there’s no dairy needed.

Try this vegan cookie dough, absolutely dreamy using only plant-based ingredients! The flavor and texture are exactly what you (and we) crave. Mix a few ingredients together and cozy up to this bowl of vegan dessert heaven!

There’s no way to spin it: vegan cookie dough is not healthy or wholesome. However, it is a craveable vegan dessert that’s absolutely worth the splurge when you’re looking for a treat. You’ll use a few simple ingredients to whip up this dairy-free goodness. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • All-purpose flour: Heat treat the flour for best safety (see below). For gluten-free, use almond flour.
  • Brown sugar: Brown sugar is key to the flavor; do not substitute granulated sugar here.
  • Vegan butter or refined coconut oil: Vegan butter is our pick, but coconut oil works too. We recommend refined coconut oil, since it has a more neutral coconut flavor.
  • Vanilla extract: Vanilla is key to the cookie dough flavor!
  • Kosher salt: Add another pinch of salt to balance the flavor if you’re using coconut oil.
  • Dairy free dark chocolate chips: Our favorite brand is Guittard 63% dark chocolate chips, which are marked dairy-free on the package.
Vegan Cookie Dough

Why and how to heat treat flour

Most edible cookie dough recipes recommend heat treating the flour. We know, it’s not fun to add this extra step of turning on your oven when you’re not even baking! To be honest, we often skip this step. But here’s why it’s recommended for food safety:

  • Flour is sold as a raw ingredient intended to be cooked, so there’s not a regulated process to remove bacteria in flour manufacturing.
  • To heat treat flour, spread it on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F until the temperature reaches 165°F. This should take about 5 minutes.
  • Cool the flour completely before using. Do not attempt to use the hot flour in cookie dough, since this affects the texture of the dough.
Vegan Cookie Dough

Remember: don’t bake it!

Don’t try baking this vegan cookie dough: it’s optimized for snacking on, not baking! For vegan chocolate chip cookies, head to our Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.

Small serving sizes are key

The one thing we’ll say about vegan cookie dough: the serving size is fairly small. One cookie typically satisfies us, but when it comes to cookie dough it’s hard to stop eating spoonfuls. Here’s what to know about serving size:

  • The serving size is 1 tablespoon. That’s right! All you need is a few bites.
  • This recipe makes 20 servings, so cut it in half if desired. This way you won’t be temped to eat more.
  • Freeze rolled into balls. Or, you can freeze half the batch so you can save for later.
Vegan Cookie Dough ingredients

Storage info

Vegan cookie dough lasts well in the refrigerator, and it also works frozen as noted above. Here’s what to know about storing this treat:

  • Refrigerator: You can keep it up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
  • Freezer: This is our preferred method! Roll it into balls and place them on a cookie sheet, then freeze until solid (about 30 minutes). Transfer to a container and they last about 2 to 3 months.

Want to make your own cookie dough ice cream with any flavor? Make this vegan cookie dough into small dollops and freeze them. Then stir them into any purchased vegan ice cream or this homemade vegan ice cream. (We love chocolate ice cream with cookie dough, so this is the best way to do it!) Follow the instructions in our homemade Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

Dietary notes

This vegan cookie dough recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free. For gluten-free, use almond flour.

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Vegan Cookie Dough

Vegan Cookie Dough
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5 from 1 review

Dive into a bowl of this creamy, dreamy edible vegan cookie dough! Made with dairy-free plant-based ingredients, it’s packed with rich chocolate chips and ready to satisfy your cravings in the tastiest way possible.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 20 servings or 1 ¼ cups 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: Dessert
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup white all-purpose flour (for gluten-free, use almond flour)
  • ½ cup brown sugar (do not substitute granulated)
  • ½ cup softened vegan butter, or melted refined coconut oil*
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • ⅓ cup dairy free dark chocolate chips (we like Guittard 63%)

Instructions

  1. Heat treat the all-purpose flour to prevent bacteria growth (optional): Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the flour on a baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes until the temperature reaches 165°F, checking every few minutes with a food thermometer. Cool completely before using (be patient: if the flour is warm the texture of the cookie dough will suffer).
  2. Mix the butter and sugar: Soften the butter in the microwave for about 10 seconds until just soft. Mash it with a fork with the brown sugar until fully incorporated. 
  3. Make the cookie dough: Mix in all the other ingredients, using as much water as you’d like to bring it together into a thick or smoother texture. Eat immediately, or store refrigerated for 1 week or roll into balls and store frozen for 3 months. Don’t bake this cookie dough: for bake-able dough, go to our Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

Notes

*If using coconut oil, add another pinch of salt.

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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1 Comment

  1. Sabrina says:

    thank you, wouldn’t have known how to come up with my own vegan cookie dough, or at least one that actually works, and doesn;t taste awdul~