In my 5 years of being vegan, I've encountered and attempted many imposters of chocolate chip cookies. There's the oily cookie: the type where the chocolate chips simply refuse to incorporate into the batter and the cookies flatten into soggy blobs upon baking. There's also the cakey cookie: the kind that suspiciously includes almond milk as an ingredient and results in thick, puffy cookies that could almost pass as dinner rolls. There's always the troublesome question: should I trust an explicitly vegan recipe or use a normal recipe and make substitutions?

The answer? You should make this recipe. Why? Because it produces chocolate chip cookies that are exquisitely normal.

Although these cookies are not gluten–free, oil–free, or in any way healthy, they have something over other vegan recipes I've attempted: they are legitimate chocolate chip cookies. This recipe, my vegan adaptation of an Allrecipes.com recipe, makes cookies that are crispy around the edges, soft and chewy in the center, and bear no off–tasting flavors or oily residues.

So, make them. Subject your friends and family to them with confidence. And take a moment to appreciate that, when it comes to vegan baking, ordinary is sometimes extraordinary.

What:

1 cup softened Earth Balance

1 cups cane sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 Neat egg substitutes

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups all–purpose flour

1.5 cups chocolate chips

How:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Make two vegan Neat eggs per the package instructions.

Mix egg substitute and vanilla butter and sugar mixture.

Stir baking soda into 2 tsp hot water until dissolved. Add to mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour and salt.

Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into wet.

Stir in chocolate chips.

The dough will seem oddly thick, like a bread dough. Ignore this.

Form dough into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 13–15 minutes.

What did I use and why?

Specifics that are important, like Earth Balance and Neat egg replacement (made from chia seeds and garbanzo beans), have been included in the recipe. For whatever reason, they work well in this recipe. I would not advise substituting these substitutes. Substitute–ception is a risky endeavor.

I used Guittard extra dark chocolate chips. If you prefer sweeter chocolate chips, go for the Trader Joe's or Enjoy Life kinds instead.