Levain-Style Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
This Levain-style vegan chocolate chunk walnut cookie recipe makes thick, bakery-style cookies with crisp edges, a soft gooey centre, and plenty of chocolate in every bite. With added walnuts for extra texture and flavour, these vegan walnut chocolate chunk cookies are a comforting homemade treat that feels just like a bakery favourite.
Ingredients
Flaxeggs
- 2 tablespoons Ground flax seed
- 6 tablespoons Cold water
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup – 1 tablespoon (212 g) vegan butter, cold and cubed (block-style. Tub/spread style has too much water and won't cream properly)
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (180 g) brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (100 g) superfine granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry
- 2 cups (280 g) bread flour
- ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Mix-ins
- 1¾ cups (200 g) dark chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks (all chunks, no chips)
- 1 cup (100 g) walnuts roughly chopped (optional but recommended for classic Levain look)
Instructions
- Make flax eggs first. Mix ground flaxseed and water. Set aside 5 minutes to thicken.
- Cube cold butter straight from the fridge. Beat with hand mixer on medium-high for 2 minutes until slightly softened but still cold.
- Add both sugars. Beat 3 to 4 minutes until fluffy and pale. This is what creates the dome.
- Add flax eggs and vanilla. Beat briefly, just to combine.
- Add all dry ingredients at once. Mix on low until just combined. Stop the moment no dry flour shows.
- Fold in chocolate chunks and walnuts with spatula.
- Divide into 8 balls, about 150 to 160g each. Shape them tall, not flat. Press extra chunks into the surface.
- Place on a tray and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Bake straight from cold, 13 to 16 minutes. Outside should be golden and set. Centre should look underdone and slightly raw.
- Leave on the pan 20 minutes minimum. They firm up dramatically as they cool and the centre goes from gooey to dense and fudgy.
For the best results, refrigerate the cookie dough overnight, as this helps the flavors develop and gives the cookies a thicker texture, better shape, and a richer, chewier centre after baking.
I tested this recipe with aquafaba, but the cookies came out with greasy bottoms and a slightly gummy centre. Flax egg gave the dough better structure and helped create that thick, soft, bakery-style texture we were after.