Why you’ll love these dairy free chocolate chip cookies!
Baking is one of the hardest things to do once you’ve gone dairy free. There are so, so many recipes out there that require milk, butter, or – my least favorite to replace – yogurt.
But, I’ve got your back. I’ve tested out many of those dairy free chocolate chip cookies, and we’ve decided that these are our favorite.
They’re texture is most like the butter-based cookies of our childhood and they flavor is the closest we can find. In fact, I’d say it’s dead on.
That’s mostly because of the vegetable shortening I replaced the butter with – it’s my favorite substitute for butter when baking – and allergy friendly chocolate chips.
Ingredient notes:
- Dairy free butter – I’ve used both vegetable shortening and dairy free chocolate chips for this recipe. You can easily swap vegan butter or coconut oil for the shortening if that’s what you have on hand just be sure to let it soften a bit.
- Dairy free chocolate chips – These are usually available at most grocery stores, but sometimes they are located in the organic section rather than the baking aisle. If you’re unsure, just read the label and look for milk listed as an ingredient.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make chocolate chip cookies without butter
Mise en place. Preheat your oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure out all of your ingredients before you begin mixing. This helps make sure you don’t miss anything.
Whisk your dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Set the bowl aside for later.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the shortening and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time and beat until they’re incorporated.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Add the flour to the mixing bowl, about 3/4 cup at a time, scraping the sides as needed.
Once that is all mixed, you’ll need to stir in the chocolate chips. You can also add about 1/2 cup chopped nuts if you want.
Scoop the cookies. Use a cookie scoop to shape the dough into 2 tablespoon sized balls and place them on the cookie sheet about and inch or so apart.
Bake for 11 – 13 minutes – or until the tops of the cookies have set. They should still be super soft when you take them out, especially if you want them to be chewy.
Let them cool. Remove the cookies from the oven and leave them on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
More dairy free cookies: rocky road cookies / chocolate chocolate chip cookies / soft sugar cookies / sprinkle cookies / almond crescent cookies / no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies
Frequently asked questions
If you want to replace butter in chocolate chip cookies, you have several options. Since chocolate chip cookies typically use softened, but not melted butter, I recommend using vegetable shortening, vegan butter, or softened coconut oil for a 1:1 replacement.
Traditional Nestle chocolate chips aren’t dairy free, but they recently came out with a line called Simply Delicious that are top 8 allergen free, which means they are dairy free. If you’re unsure, be sure to check the ingredients list.
More dairy free chocolate recipes: dairy free fudge / olive oil brownies / dairy free chocolate pudding / dairy free hot chocolate / chocolate zucchini muffins / chocolate raspberry tart
Eggs are not dairy.
But, if you thought eggs were a dairy product, you are not alone. It’s common misconception that stems from the fact that eggs are sold in the dairy section at the grocery store and they usually need to be refrigerated, which is something we often associate with dairy. See more: Are eggs dairy free?
The Best Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegetable shortening*
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup dairy free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat shortening and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined. Add flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until incorporated, scrapping sides as needed.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop 2 tablespoon balls of dough onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10 – 11 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Repeat steps 6 – 7 to bake remaining cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I had to cut out dairy when I found out my baby was allergic while nursing. I have a huge sweet tooth and was so happy to find this recipe!!
I’ve made batch after batch, keeping the dough in a Tupperware in the fridge and baking them in small batches, however, I’ve made them all at once also and had no issues. I now add 1/4 cup dairy free butter and 3/4 cup shortening, bake for 11 mins and they come out perfect!
Hi Melissa! This recipe is amazing! I’ve struggled to find sweets that my son can eat because he is dairy free. This is by far the best dairy free dessert I’ve found! I used dairy free butter instead of shortening. They turned out great! Thank you! 🙂
I did everything instructed in recipe but they turned into biscuits instead of cookies still had good flavor
Made the recipe today- followed all the instructions and did not make any changes. Came out great! Cookies was soft and chewy with a crisp on the outside. My first time using shortening and definitely not the last!
Could you use avacado oil in place of the shortening?
I’m on an MSPI diet, and I’ve been looking all over for good desserts. I’ve tried so, so many cookies, and this is the best recipe I’ve found. Even my kids want to eat these, rather than our regular tried and true cookies that use dairy! These are excellent all the time, and even better when I’ve used Spectrum shortening.
This may be my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, even once I can have dairy again! The texture is perfect, they come together great, and the whole family loves them!
Outstanding dairy free recipe!
This recipe is by far the best dairy free cookie recipe I’ve made! Everyone loved them, thanks for sharing it!
I make these cookies all the time and they are fabulous!! This time, I want to make a cookie cake, should I just bake the whole cake at 350 for 20 mins? What would you recommend?
Tried this recipe for the first time and it turned out great! Loved loved loved it. Made it the first time and the second time. It’s now my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Can’t wait to try out more recipes!