re = /\bchocolate(?:(?:\hvanilla)?\hcookies)?\b/m
str = 'Try out our new chocolate
Try out our new chocolate cookies
Try out our new chocolate vanilla cookies'
subst = 'chocolate chip cookies'
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
# Print the result of the substitution
puts result
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html