Chocolate cookies have an eye-catching appearance, moderate sweetness, buttery aroma, and crispy pieces. The cookies are pretty suitable for weekend get-togethers with family and friends.
The original recipe often mentions one ingredient – pure vanilla extract. However, is it possible to make chocolate chip cookies with no vanilla?
Vanilla only works to enhance the flavor of the recipes. It’s not a factor deciding the outcome of recipes like flour or baking soda. Thus, it is no problem to bake cookies without vanilla.
Is It a Problem to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Vanilla Extract?
As mentioned above, vanilla is only a flavoring that enhances the flavor of the recipe. It does not play a significant role in determining the success or failure of the formula.
Therefore, you can move vanilla out of your chocolate cookie recipe if it suddenly runs out. However, the taste of the finished cookies will have a slightly different flavor. Many people don’t even realize this difference.
The reason is that there are so many exciting things in this cake that you don’t consider vanilla as remarkable anymore. The peanut butter and sugar cookie recipe are not rancid.
What Are Substitutes for Vanilla Extract?
If you want to ditch the vanilla and replace it with something fragrant, there are dozens of flavorings to choose from. It not only applies to chocolate cookie recipes. You can use these substitutes in other cake recipes.
Honey
You can use honey instead of vanilla. It tastes excellent, like vanilla. However, it will have a slightly different taste. It also makes your cookies sweeter. However, if you like sweets, that’s great.
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup has a similar flavor to honey. It is an excellent substitute for vanilla. Just adding a small amount of maple syrup is enough to bring out the smell of chocolate chip cookies.
Agave Syrup
Agave syrup is a substitute for vanilla flavor. Its taste is similar to honey.
Almond extract is “used” to make cakes and enhance the flavor of the cakes you make. However, the almond extract has a stronger flavor, so be careful when making cookies.
Bourbon or Brandy
You can also use bourbon or brandy as a substitute for vanilla in the chocolate chip cookie recipe. It enhances the flavor of your cookies.
Homemade Vanilla Extract
You can make homemade vanilla extract instead of buying vanilla tubes from the store. The way to do it is not too difficult. First, you need to prepare fresh vanilla beans and a kind of spirits (vodka recommended), and a big airtight jar.
Then split the vanilla beans into two halves. After that, put the split vanilla beans in the jar and pour the vodka over. Cover the jar and shake gently to mix the two. It will help if you store this jar in a cool place, away from sunlight.
We need to wait patiently for at least 30 days. During this time, shake the pot occasionally to distribute the vanilla bean and wine evenly. After 1 to 2 months, you can filter the juice and put it in a bottle. So you have handmade vanilla extract already.
Other Substitutes
In addition to the above flavorings, use them in your recipe if you have cinnamon, allspice, or nutmeg at home.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes Without Vanilla Extract
Ingredients
Below are some simple ingredients that the recipe calls:
Unsalted butter: 165 grams = 3/4 cup (approx. 3/4 cup )
Caster sugar: 80 grams
Brown sugar / granulated sugar/cinnamon sugar: 80 grams
Two cold egg yolks: 18-20 grams/yolk
All-purpose flour: 300 grams
Baking soda: 1/2 teaspoon
Table salt: 1/4 teaspoon
Chocolate chips: 130-150 grams (semi-sweet chocolate chips are also ok)
Tool
Baking sheets, air fryer/oven, stirrer, medium /large bowl, spoon, etc.
Summary of baking steps
Feel free to check out the step-by-step instructions for chocolate chip cookies with no vanilla. We make it in American baking cuisine.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
Step 2
Melt the butter and let it cool until it solidifies and becomes a paste and slightly mushy. Now we have softened butter in a medium bowl.
Step 3
Add the white and yellow sugar and mix well with the butter. You can use an electric mixer to save time.
Add two egg yolks and mix well when the melted butter and brown sugar have just turned into a smooth cream.
Step 4
Place dry ingredients such as flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl and mix well.
Step 5
Sift the mixed dry ingredients into the prepared wet ingredients.
Mix until dough forms in a large bowl.
Add about 4/5 of the chocolate chips to the dough forms, mix well.
Step 6
Divide the cookie dough into about 30 grams. Place cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Each dough ball should be “spaced” about 3-5 cm apart on the baking sheet.
If the cookie dough is too pasty and sticky, it isn’t easy to shape. To harden the cookie dough, you can put the dough in the refrigerator for about 20 to 30 minutes. It will make it easier to shape the cake.
Step 7
Gently press the dough down slightly. When baking, the butter melts, the dough will spread out on its own to form a circle.
Step 8
Use the remaining 1/5 of the chocolate chips to stick around the cookies. After baking is “completed,” the chocolate will remain on the cookie surface, making the cake more beautiful.
Step 9
Bake cookies
Crunchy cookie
If you want the cookies to be crunchy, bake them at 190°C for about 12 minutes of bake time. After 8-9 minutes of baking, turn the tray upside down when the cake turns slightly golden.
Continue baking for three more minutes until the edges are slightly golden brown. Take the cookies out, leave them on the tray for 5 minutes, and move baked cookies to the wire rack to cool completely.
Soft and chewy cookies
If you want the soft and chewy cookies, bake at 170 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes of bake time. After 10 – 12 minutes, when the cookies are slightly golden, turn the tray upside down.
Continue to bake until the edges are slightly golden brown. Take the cookies out, leave them on the tray for 5 minutes, and move baked cookies to the wire rack to cool completely.
Step 10
Store sugar cookies in an airtight container, possibly adding a desiccant bag. This way, you can store cookies for 1-2 weeks.
If the sugar cookies are not crispy enough, turn on the oven at 110 degrees Celsius. Let’s put the cookies in the oven again for 5-8 minutes (don’t leave them too long, the sugar cookies will be stiff).
Above are the simple steps of a great recipe for a chocolate chip cookie without vanilla extract. It is to produce a batch of delicious chocolate chip cookies that are hard to resist.
Let’s go to the kitchen to make nutrition calories healthy eating now for the family to enjoy. Good luck!
What happens if you don’t use vanilla in cookies?
The following are the steps to make vanilla cookies without the use of the extract:
First, you need to know that the basic ingredients that can be used in baking without any concern are: Yeast, baking soda, salt, flour and butter. These ingredients are quite easy to find in our daily consumption.
The next important points to use are: The butter (and sometimes lard as an emulsifier), sugar and eggs. These products can be replaced by other substances but with a lesser quality (for example plant-based products such as soybean oil). The quality of the product is not very important when it comes to these products (although they will produce a cake less tasty).
In short, it is always better to use a good quality butter than other products.
Next, we need to add some liquids that are essential in baking (liquid fats, vanilla and baking powder). Usually these products can be ground with water to obtain a liquid that is as thin as possible (water is a good emulsifier) and uses the best quality of ingredients.
Finally, last but not least, we need to add the dry ingredients: flour, salt and sugar. These products are from corn or wheat and the quality will depend on production. The amount of each ingredient depends on your personal taste or the recipe.
What can you use instead of vanilla extract in cookies?
In addition to the basic ingredients previously mentioned, you can also add a little spice or cinnamon which provides a tasty addition to these cookies. We serve cinnamons in different forms: as cinnamon sugar, ground cinnamon, in pieces or whole. The use of cinnamon is optional but it will bring a more spectacular aroma when baking the cookies.
A cake without vanilla extract is composed of many components that are combined in one step and baked in several steps. The first step is with the yeast mixture (either liquidy or dry). In this case, you need to mix all ingredients together before preparing the dough (or baking).
Is it OK to omit vanilla extract?
Many experts say that the use of fresh vanilla extract is necessary in the baking of cookies. Some even say that if you don’t bake with vanilla extract or need to replace it, then you will be forced to add a little bit of vanilla powder.
Although this might be true for many recipes, there are exceptions. In addition to some people who claim that they can taste fine without using the extract, there are some major differences when using and not using the vanilla cream, including: the taste and texture of the filling, as well as an impact on the plating (the presentation). In summary, it is wrong to say that you can just substitute vanilla extract in these recipes without any problems.
Can you skip vanilla extract in chocolate chip cookies?
Chocolate chip cookies are usually very delicious but if you don’t use vanilla extract in the mixture, they will not be the same. Let’s say that these chocolate chip cookies can be prepared with a bland vanilla cookie (the kind of cookies that you eat empty in no time) or even with a spicy and aromatic dough. This is why we only use this type of flavor to enhance the recipe.
In addition to making your favorite recipe more irresistible, vanilla extract is also very important for the baking process because it acts as a super-emulsifier (because it dissolves the fat instead of floating on top). Also, if you want to keep the integrity of the taste of this recipe, be sure to use high-quality vanilla extract with a maximum alcohol content of 35%. This type of vanilla extract is usually very expensive but it will ensure a healthier product that has not been diluted with alcohol or water.
Can honey replace vanilla?
We have already talked about the fact that a good quality vanilla extract is essential for these cookies. Of course, honey is another option that you can use to make this recipe but it will not be the same.
Instead, we recommend using a good quality vanilla extract or a homemade mixture using one of your fresh ingredients (e.g. vanilla bean, vanilla powder or ground cinnamon). If you prefer to use honey for this recipe, then we recommend adding more liquid fat and more eggs in order to compensate for its water content.
In general, it is highly recommended to use a good quality vanilla extract for the preparation of these cookies. However, these cookies can also be prepared without vanilla and with the right ingredients, they will still be very tasty.
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