At Violet, our Egg Yolk Chocolate Chip Cookie is a strong contender for our signature item. Made with just the yolks of organic eggs laid by hens on an independent farm in Essex, (a technique I learned from Pierre Hermé nearly 20 years ago), they have the perfect texture that allows the single origin Pump Street chocolate to sing. Of course, this recipe does preclude anyone following a vegan diet from getting to enjoy a cookie, and its for that reason that I developed the recipe below.
Making vegan bakes is tricky to start with, but not difficult and it’s easy to get the hang of it. Of course, you can easily make substitutes; vegan butter is everywhere and flaxmeal replaces eggs neatly in most things. It’s not always an exact 1:1 though, so the best vegan recipes have been designed with that in mind.
When I started Violet I was going through a phase where I was really experimenting with alternative flours and unrefined sugars, so much so that it was something I became known for at the time, but that experimentation leads naturally into baking without eggs or butter as well. I have a few really close friends who have intolerances as well, and my love for them has been a motivation in creating recipes without various ingredients over the years.
With all that said, I’d always struggled with the connotations of labelling something vegan. For so long it seemed to come with a lot of baggage, with the expectation of being healthier for you and, in turn, less tasty. I refute both of these assumptions; you can have an indulgent treat that still tastes as good as one made with animal products. The predecessor of the Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie, what we now refer to at the bakery as the Chocolate, Oat, and Agave Cookie, is made without gluten or refined sugars as well but we found so many customers reluctant to try it when it had the word Vegan in the name. Changing what we called it saw its popularity increase so much, and when initially introducing the below recipe we called it a Plant Based Chocolate Chip Cookie for a bit. I’m so happy to see that now customers are happier to try things they wouldn’t have done 10 years ago, and I hope you’ll make these as well no matter your diet.
You can use any vegan chocolate in these, but I love a really good 100% dark which should be naturally vegan on its own. Seek out a single origin chocolate if you can, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.
Photo by Maren Caruso
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