Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
on Feb 04, 2022, Updated Dec 06, 2022
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If you like chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered strawberries, you’ll love these vegan Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies! It’s got melty chocolate, sweet strawberries and crunchy walnuts tucked inside a buttery soft brown sugar cookie. They’re soft and chewy in the middle, crisp around the edges and super easy to make!
Is there anything better than a warm chocolate chip cookie straight out of the oven? Even just the smell of freshly baked cookies makes me happy, but these cookies taste like the classic, bakery-style chocolate chip cookies I grew up loving but with a fun chocolate-covered-strawberry twist!
It took me a long time to figure out how to make homemade vegan cookies taste better than store-bought, but over the years I’ve learned some simple but effective tips for making insanely delicious cookies at home and these Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies are one of my favorites!
Pair with a cold glass of non-dairy milk (I personally love almond milk with cookies) and enjoy!
Fun fact: These cookies taste even better the next day and they’re freezer friendly, which means you can have cookies or ready-to-bake cookie dough ready and waiting whenever you like!
Reasons to love these vegan Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft and chewy in the middle, slightly crisp around the edges
- Loaded with melty dark chocolate, tart freeze-dried strawberries and crunchy walnuts
- Easy to make
- FAST! It only 20 minutes from start to finish 🙌
- Great dessert, movie night snack or Valentine’s Day gift for a friend or loved one
- Meal-prep and Freezer-friendly
What You Will Need to Make Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Non-Dairy Butter. I recommend using the sticks instead of the kind that comes in a tub for best results. My go to is Earth Balance Salted Buttery Sticks.
Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips. There’s lots of vegan and accidentally vegan chocolate chips on the market so feel free to use your favorite brand for these cookies. My go to for the last few years – and pretty much the only chocolate chips I use for making vegan desserts – is Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips. They’re delicious and perfect in these cookies!
Ground Flax Seeds. Instead of using chicken’s eggs in my baking, I mix ground flax seeds with water to make a flax “egg” which binds the cookies together and keeps them from falling apart. A big bag of ground flax seeds is inexpensive and available at stores like Kroger, Publix, Target, Walmart, Sprouts, Aldi, Trader Joe’ and Thrive Market.
Oats. Good old fashioned oatmeal is the way to go here. It gives these cookies a delicious sweet and nutty flavor that pairs so well with brown sugar, chocolate and walnuts.
Sea Salt. You’ve probably heard that adding salt to sweet foods like cookies adds “balance” and it couldn’t be more true. Do not skip the salt. It’s what sharpens all of the other flavors and makes these cookies taste incredibly rich and buttery!
How to Make Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Start by pre-heating your oven to 375 degrees. Pro Tip: An oven thermometer like this one is less than $10 and a great way to make sure your cookies turn out perfectly every time. You’d be surprised how different ovens can be!
Make a flax egg by mixing the flax seeds with water and set aside. Then roughly chop the freeze-dried strawberries and set those aside too.
Line two large cookie sheets with non-stick mats or parchment paper and set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then grab another bowl and cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. We’re talking verrrry light and fluffy. I usually do this for a full minute…which isn’t that long but kinda feels like overkill when you’re doing it. Trust me, this is what makes the cookies have that soft, tender center we all love!
Next add the flax egg, vanilla and applesauce and mix to combine.
Then add the dry ingredients, half at time to avoid over-mixing, and then add the chocolate chips, freeze-dried strawberries and chopped walnuts.
Mix just until combined and then scoop onto the cookie sheets. I do this with a medium sized ice cream scoop like this one. It’s great because it makes sure that each cookie is the same size so they bake evenly in the oven.
Bake for 11 minutes, let cool on the tray for 5 – annoying I know, but it important. The residual heat is still baking the cookies outside of the oven and helping them set up properly. Again, trust me, this is a texture thing and so worth it for that bakery-style cookie you’re about to end up with!
Serve with a nice cold glass of almond milk or a scoop of your favorite vegan ice cream and enjoy!
RECIPE FAQs
Can I use gluten-free flour? Yes! Just be sure to use an all purpose blend. Something like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour would be great.
Can I use quick cooking oats? I didn’t have good results with quick cooking oats so I wouldn’t recommend it.
What kind of vegan butter is best? Generally speaking the kind that comes in sticks works much better than the kind that comes in a tub. I almost always use Earth Balance Sticks or Country Crock Almond Oil or Avocado Oil Sticks.
Can I use freeze-dried raspberries instead? Yes! They’re so good too!
Can I use fresh strawberries? Unfortunately no. Fresh strawberries have a bit too much moisture to work properly in this cookie. Also freeze-dried strawberries have had all of the water removed so the strawberry flavor is naturally concentrated which makes these cookies super flavorful! You can substitute dried cranberries or just leave the fruit out all together! They’re still delicious without it.
Can I freeze the cookie dough? Yes! Scoop the dough onto a lined cookie sheet (you can scoop them close together on the sheet because you’re not baking them. Then pop the baking sheet into the freezer for a few hours or until completely frozen, and then transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe bag or container. When baking from frozen, add 2 minutes to the baking time.
Can I freeze the cookies after baking? Yes! I recommend freezing them as soon as possible to lock in freshness. Just make sure they’re completely cooled before freezing. I like to freeze in an airtight container with a piece of parchment in between each layer to prevent the cookies from sticking together.
How do I keep these cookies soft? These cookies stay pretty soft and chewy when stored in an airtight bag thanks to the freeze-dried strawberries. I actually think they taste even better the next day! To ensure they stay as soft as possible you can also store them with a piece of sandwich bread in the bag which help keep the cookies soft as well. Store in an airtight bag at room temp for 3-4 days or in the fridge for 5.
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 stick vegan butter , 1/2 cup, sticks work better than the kind in the tub
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ⅔ cup mini chocolate chips, I used Enjoy Life Semi Sweet
- 1 cup freeze dried strawberries
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large cookie sheets with a non-stick baking mat or parchment parper and set aside. Combine the flax seeds and water in a small bowl. Stir and set aside to thicken. Measure the oats into a blender and pulse a few times to finely chop. See photo above for texture reference.
Mix the dry ingredients
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea into a large bowl and use a whisk to combine. Then add the oats, mix again and set aside.
Mix the wet ingredients
- Add the softened butter, cane sugar and brown sugar to another large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. We're talking verrrry light and fluffy. I usually do this for at least 1 minute…which isn't that long but kinda feels like overkill when you're doing it. Trust me, this is what makes the cookies have that soft, tender center we all love!Then add the vanilla, applesauce and thickened flax egg and beat for 30 seconds.
Combine
- Add half of dry ingredients to the bowl with wet ingredients and use a wooden spoon to combine. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until only a little bit of flour is visible. Then add the chocolate chips, chopped walnuts and freeze-dried strawberries. Mix just until evenly combined and then stop. Do not overmix or you'll have tough cookies.
Bake
- Use a medium sized ice cream scoop or large rounded tablespoon for each cookie and place 12 cookies on each tray. For thinner cookies press the dough 1/3 down before baking. For thicker cookies just scoop onto the cookie sheet and bake. Both ways are delicious 🙂Pro Tip: I like to sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top of each cookie before baking for decoration and extra chocolaty goodness! Bake for 10.5-11 minutes, let cool on the tray for 5 – annoying I know but it important. The residual heat is still baking the cooking and helping it set up properly. Again, trust me, this is a texture thing and so worth it for that bakery-style cookie you're about to end up with! Serve with a glass of cold almond milk or a scoop of vegan ice cream and enjoy!
These cookies are so good! I made a large batch, scooped them and froze them. Now I can take one out whenever I want! They are quite soft right after baking so I let them cool completely for the best texture. They are definitely worth the wait. I added in pecans instead of strawberries because that’s what I had, but the base recipe is perfect for any mix ins!
This is amazing! Thank you so much for the feedback! Pecans sound like they would be delicious in this recipe. I’m so happy that you enjoyed it 🙂
I made these cookies today and WOW — so good! Make them, you will love them! Thank you Nikki for bringing the best recipes and tips!!
Yay!! This made me so happy! Thank you for making my recipe and for taking the time to leave such a nice comment 🙂
Adding the 5 stars 🙂
Aw thank you so much Stephanie!
i just made these with Miyokos butter and they came out very greasy and flat. But they are so delicious, nobody even cared, and they will probably be gone by the end of the day. 🙂 Next time I’ll try the Country Crock butter. I also want to try the dried cranberries you suggested, or pecans…or I think they’d also be great with the vegan butterscotch chips I picked up a while ago and have been looking to use.
Thanks for another great recipe!
Hey Kate! I’m so glad that the cookies still tasted good despite being flat and greasy! It’ hard to know exactly what caused the cookies to turn out flat but it could have been a few things. Most likely the butter was too warm. It should be soft enough to cream with the sugar but if it’s oily and melty, it will change the outcome of the cookies. In the future, if you think the butter may have been too warm when mixing you can chill the dough (after scooping onto the baking sheet) for 30 minutes or even freeze for 10 minutes before baking. This will help a lot 😊 Also make sure the flour measurement is accurate as the butter to flour ratio can sometimes effect the outcome as well. Too little flour will result in a greasy cookie. I hope that’s helpful! And Yes! I totally agree with you about adding cranberries and/or pecans. I think that would be delicious! And I’m so jealous you were able to find vegan butterscotch chips! I haven’t seen those before but I’m sure they’ll be delicious. Let me know how it goes and which combos you make next! ❤️ Nicole
These were the BEST cookies I’ve ever made since becoming vegan a couple years ago, maybe even my whole life. The texture is just like those cookies in the grocery store deli cases that unfortunately have eggs in them. For the next batch, I’m going to experiment with turning them into oatmeal raisin cookies, my favorite!
Awwww this comment put the biggest smile on my face! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it 🙂 I think oatmeal raisin sounds absolutely delicious! Let me know how it goes!
Delicious! I followed the recipe exactly, and they turned out perfectly. It makes a big batch, so I baked half, and scooped the rest and froze the scoops. Cookies for now, and cookies for later. Win/Win. Thank you Nicole, I’ve never used freeze-dried strawberries before, so this was an interesting way to change up our weekly sweet treat.
I’ve made these a few times already and they are so good! Just made a batch today, using half cup raisins instead of the strawberries. I also used 1/4 c sugar instead of 1/2 c cane sugar. Definitely my go to recipe for cookies!!