Eggless Cookie Recipe

Have you ever been in the middle of creating something wonderful in your kitchen and you get to the part of the recipe when you need to add - butter, eggs, oil, baking powder...etc and when you go to reach for the next ingredient, you discover that you are out of it?

NOOOOO! This can't be happening right now!

It happens to the best of us. No one is perfect in the kitchen. I know I've made a lot of mistakes. Especially those mistakes that consist of the same missing ingredient scenario like the above problem. I can't help it though. When I have the huge urge to bake, I bake. When I am craving something bad, I'll cook it! And when I get in one of those experimentive kitchen nerd moods, nothing can stop me! Whether or not I have all the ingredients for success!

Yes, you can be one of those cooks that always makes sure you have everything in stock and if you find something low, you go and buy it just so you are prepared for future baking/cooking moments.

But most likely you can be one of those bakers that buys things at the moment of your decision to make a dish.

I'd say I'm in the middle. Yes I have the usual flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, and powder in my kitchen pantry but I prefer to save my money and not always buying things just because I'm low on corn starch! Which now reminds me, I've been out of mirin for awhile now. Something that keeps slipping my mind. I usually don't mind taking a trip to the grocery store because I could be there for hours and not get bored. But there are those days that it can be inconvenient to have to make a trip at the last minute in order to complete a step in a recipe, worry about gas, AND going out in public looking like a hot mess. ;) I kid sometimes!

I know I'm not the only one who has been in a crunch like this! What's the one thing you always seem to be out of when you need it the most?

So today it happened again. I was in the middle of making some fantastic Dark Chocolate Pistachio cookies with a sprinkle of sea salt on top and when I got to the egg part of the recipe, I went to the fridge and looked....looked....and looked some more. I WAS OUT OF EGGS! AHHHHHH! WHAT DO I DO??

I'm well aware of all those vegan recipes out there, but to be honest, I really am not a fan of them. They always come out odd, too thick, and no texture. And yes, I've made a batch of vegan cookies once just to see what these recipes are all about! So when I realized I was out of eggs, that was the first thing that came to mind. The cookies were going to be ruined.

So I decided to experiment a little. Take a chance. I am a HUGE science nerd - both in the kitchen and working in a hospital setting. I have no problem saying I'm a geek and loving it!

I looked to see what I had available at that exact moment and I found corn starch and lowfat plain yogurt. The corn starch adds to the texture and binds the ingredients of the cookie with the butter and the yogurt makes the dough moist and keep together. Will this make or break the cookie?

So here's the basic cookie recipe that I came up with and then you can come up with your own cookie combinations to satisfy your craving, your likings, or for any special events and holidays. For one ingredient, 1 1/2 - 2 cups would be just fine, for a combo of two, 1 cup of each would be perfect to add to the cookie dough, and for three or more, I'd lessen the amount in order not to overcrowd the cookie, which will change the end results of your cookie. Today I used dark chocolate, pistachio, and coarse sea salt so I'll write what I did and the end result of my experiment.

Eggless Cookie Recipe

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup bread flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder

1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp water

1/4 cup plain lowfat (or nonfat) yogurt
2 tsp vanilla

1 cup pistachios, chopped
1 cup Valrhona dark chocolate, chopped or any semi to dark chocolate chips
Coarse sea salt

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2) Combine dry ingredients; set aside.
3) Cream butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl; set aside. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl, then add to the butter-sugar and mix. Then add the yogurt and vanilla. Beat thoroughly.
4) In small batches, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. (Stir in the pistachios and chocolate well.) *Add your own ingredients here.
5) Use an ice cream scoop and place the rounded cookie dough onto the baking sheets. (Sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the cookie dough.) Bake for around 10-12 minutes for Tbsp sized cookie dough and 15-17 minutes for ice cream scoop sized dough.
6) Allow to cool on the sheets for 3-4 minutes before removing onto cooling racks.

What was the end result?

 

I'll be 100% honest. If someone else had made this recipe and did not tell me about the changes that were made, I definitely would not have known there was no egg in the cookie. They were absolutely perfect! And I'm not just saying this because I made them.

 

Crisp on the outside with a slight chewiness in the middle. Most definitely not like the vegan recipes you find online or in a cookbook. For the record, I know this isn't a 'vegan' recipe but I do put this cookie in a category similar to that of one. I was completely shocked by how good these cookies were. This girl patted herself on the back for a job well done. First times the charm!

 

*I'd like to point out some things in the way I usually bake and also how I baked these cookies before you try these out for yourself:

 

-When it comes to sugar, I NEVER measure accurately. I have never been a super sweet dessert fan so I loosely measure less than the right amount called for in any recipe, whether I create it myself or use someone elses recipe. I measured less sugar than what I put in this recipe. I might even go a little less next time, but I did not want to adjust that above since everyone has their own tastes.

 

-I ended up adding the corn starch/water liquid and vanilla first, the dry ingredients, and then mixed in the yogurt before the pistachio and chocolate so I could see the dough pre-yogurt and with the yogurt. Pre-yogurt, the dough was somewhat dry and only slightly moist. After the addition of yogurt, the dough resembled the regular cookie dough 'look with the addition of egg(s)'. I can assume that if you add the yogurt in before the flour, it'll be just fine?

 

-And I'm guilty of always putting more vanilla than asked...does that make me a bad girl? ;)

 

-But I ALWAYS measure the other dry ingredients accurately. Sometimes I do follow the rules. :)

 

I hope you'll try these out for yourself. And of course, please let me know what you think!

Banana Nut Bread

Tis the season to bake, bake, and bake some more! Carb load all you want and then go for a great and long run after! ;) I love baking this time of year and the smells that come out of the kitchen in the fall....WOW. It just puts you in a great mood 24/7. I was just given the task of writing my first recommendation letter for one of my high school students so before this procastinator types away on the computer, I thought I'd indulge in some baking to get me in the mood!

So far this fall, I've made Pumpkin White Chocolate Popcorn, Pumpkin Marshmallows, and of course Pumpkin pie! You can NEVER have enough of pumpkin! Next up on my list was pumpkin bread and white chocolate pumpkin cheesecakes (Reese's Pieces Peanut But Cups status) but right before I reached for my pumpkin puree, I noticed 4 small and very ripe bananas hanging out in the fruit bowl. I do not like to let anything go to waste so I decided to make good old banana nut bread with my newly made recipe! And you are going to love this!

My go to banana recipe. It has everything you've been looking for in a banana bread. First, I've been enjoying baking with yogurt for quite some time now, so I love the addition of it to my banana bread. This makes for some scrumptious and moist banana bread. One of the best you'll ever have! Just believe me. :-) I always love the addition of nuts to any of the breads I make, but if you do not, it's perfectly fine to make the bread without. If you love chocolate chips or chunks in your bread, add a cup of it to the mix! I prefer without but everyone has their own preferences of course.

My favorite part of this bread is.....the cardamom! I love the slight hint of it when you take each bite. Makes for one unique banana bread experience. And to throw in some healthy, I added in flaxseeds. Does it make you feel less guilty now? :)) When you smash the bananas, don't go completely smashed or else the baking process takes longer...and do you really want to wait longer?? Just slightly smash them so they are somewhat chunky, yet smooth. Now go ahead and make this bread. I dare you! :) 

Banana Nut Bread

1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick of butter, softened
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup bread flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp flaxseeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 cup coarsely mashed bananas (yields a little over a cup with 4 small and very ripe bananas)
1 cup of walnuts, chopped

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease loaf pan (or 3 mini loaf pans).
2) Combine yogurt and soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
3) Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add vanilla. Then beat in the yogurt.
4) Add the flours, flaxseeds, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. Beat gently and do not overmix. Before thoroughly combined, add the bananas and walnuts.
5) Bake the bread for 45 minutes or until a toothpick or cake test comes out clean. If using 3 mini loaf pans, they should bake in 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6) When removed from the oven, let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and then remove and fully cool on a cooling rack. Once cool, wrap with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge overnight. Or if you are like me, cut the bread into slices and eat right away! :)

Enjoy! :-)