Got extra egg yolks and don’t want to make pudding, custard or ice cream? Then make these soft and chewy egg yolk cookies! Customize these with your favorite extracts or even add-ins!
Remember how I used to have an egg white problem? You know the one – I’d make many batches of ice cream (using egg yolks) and then would have tons and tons of egg whites left over? Well, today I had the opposite problem. I made a fresh fruit cake using egg whites and then had 6 egg yolks left over.
I didn’t want to repeat a recipe, so I passed on pudding, lemon curd, creme brûlée and other custard-type of desserts. But I did find this little gem – a 6 egg yolk cookie. Intrigued?
These cookies are NOT health food. They include 6 full egg yolks, plus a stick of butter. The regular recipe actually called for 2 sticks (EEEK!) but I slimmed them down by substituting the second stick of butter with half a cup of applesauce instead. And you know what? I couldn’t even tell that there was applesauce in the recipe.
Since I like my cookies on the soft and chewy side, I only baked mine for 8 minutes. I let them cool on the baking mat and the centers firmed up quite nicely. I took these cookies on a girls’ weekend and everyone was raving about them.
I imagine these would be pretty awesome with other extracts as well – such as almond, mint and orange. I used lemon because that’s what I had on hand. To jazz these up, I could have added some lemon zest but I didn’t have any on hand.
These are a wonderfully soft and chewy cookie that you and your friends enjoy. Have fun experimenting with different extracts or even add-ins like chocolate chips and sprinkles!
6 egg yolk cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce can substitute with another stick of butter if desired
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 6 egg yolks can substitute with 3 whole eggs if needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- Additional granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter, applesauce and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and cream of tartar together until well blended.
- In a small bowl, mix the egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon extract together. Add this to the mixer and mix until well blended. Then turn the speed down to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients until everything comes together.
- Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop mounds of dough (it will be very sticky) and roll it into a small bowl of granulated sugar. Make sure to cover all sides of the dough ball. Place it on your prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough and make sure to space the dough balls out at least 2-3 inches apart, as these will spread a little bit.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 8 minutes for soft and chewy cookies. If you like your cookies a little firmer, you can bake for about 10 minutes or more.
I took your lead and subbed 1 stick of the butter with virgin coconut oil and used coconut extract. Same cookie but with a coconut flavor. Very versatile cookie recipe and a great way to use up the extra egg yolks I had. Thanks.
Author
Awesome – glad you enjoyed them!
Truly awesome cookies . I made exactly as described but added 1 tsp of butter extract. I baked 12 minutes and they still had a perfectly soft center. I know I’ll make these many more times.
Author
Hooray – so happy to hear this, LC!