Whether you are a vegetarian or simply do not eat eggs, there is no reason that you cannot eat your favorite cookies and pastries. Let us take a look at some substitutes for eggs that can be used in cookies.
While making any baked food, particularly desserts or cookies, you need to be very careful about changing the ingredients or the proportions of ingredients. This is because in baking each ingredient like baking powder, self-raising flour and eggs has a role to play in how the final product turns out to be. One of the hardest ingredient to substitute in a cookie recipe is eggs. This is because in a cookie recipe, eggs act as a binder that binds the other ingredients together and it also adds moisture to the cookies. If you are a vegetarian or a vegan, then you will need to find a good substitute for eggs in cookies. Some people might be allergic to eggs, trying to cut down on cholesterol or simply be out of eggs when baking; whatever the reason there are ways to make cookies taste good even without using eggs. Most people think that egg-less version of their favorite cookie recipe is not going to taste good. But that is simply not true. By tweaking the recipe a little bit and using the right egg substitute for baking, you can make your cookies taste just as great as the cookies made with the original recipe.
Suitable Substitute for Eggs in Cookies
As mentioned earlier, in a cookie recipe, eggs act as a binder that binds all the other ingredients together and holds the shape of the cookie. It also gives the cookie moisture and without the egg(s) in the cookie, the cookies will turn out to be very dense and chewy. Unlike a cake batter which has more liquid ingredient to keep the cake moist and more leaveners in it to make it rise, cookie doughs have a heavy consistency and also requires less leaveners as cookies are generally fat and they do not rise as much as cakes do. However, it does require some amount of liquid in it and eggs generally give the cookie dough the required moisture and consistency.
Oil and Water
For a simple cookie recipe, that calls for one egg in the original recipe, a suitable egg substitute is to use 2 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon oil. This will give the cookie dough a bit of moisture and save it from becoming too dense and chewy.
Corstarch and Water
Another good substitute for eggs in cookies is to use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. First mix the cornstarch with water in a small bowl, stirring it with a spoon to make sure that the cornstarch is well mixed with the water. Replace this mixture in place of the eggs in the cookie recipe. You can also use 1 tablespoon of tapioca flour with 2 tablespoons water as a substitute for eggs.
Mashed Banana
Another great substitute for eggs in a cookie recipe is mashed banana. For every egg that is required in the cookie recipe, replace it with half a mashed banana. Make sure that the banana is ripe and you mash it thoroughly with a fork to make sure that there are no lumps. Substituting mashed banana for eggs in a cookie recipe works very well and you might in fact prefer their taste to the regular cookies. Mashed banana gives the cookies a sweet flavor and a light texture. You might need to adjust the amount of sugar that you use in the cookie dough as the bananas adds to the sweetness.
Applesauce
You can also use applesauce for making cookies instead of eggs. Substitute one-fourth cup applesauce for one egg in the cookie recipe. Applesauce will give the cookie dough moistness and impart the cookies with great flavor.
In cookies, eggs add moistness and helps to bind the other ingredients together. So while replacing the egg(s) in the cookie recipe, you need to substitute it with an ingredient that will add moistness to the cookies without compromising their taste or texture.
