Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe for Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (or Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies) is one I posted years ago when I heard that Shirley Corriher was coming out with a new book, Bakewise. I couldn't wait to buy Bakewise, so I pulled Shirley's other book, Cookwise, off the shelf and baked a batch of her chocolate chip cookies.

Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies = Thin

Cookwise and Bakewise are both great books for anyone interested in the science behind baking. These eggless cookies are from Cookwise, where Shirley gives examples of four variations on chocolate chip cookies -- basic, thin, puffed and in between. These are the thin cookies.

Flavor and Texture

It’s nice to have a few eggless cookie recipes in your collection, and this is a good one. The cookies are loaded with vanilla, butter, and chocolaty flavor and have a firm, chewy texture. For those of you who don’t like your cookies cakey, these are about as far as you can get.

In Cookwise, Shirley says she uses bleached flour because it doesn’t absorb as much liquid, a little extra milk to help the cookies spread, extra baking soda for browning, and corn syrup to add some crispness which in these cookies, is only around the edges. The rest of the cookies are chewy.

What makes these so good is the caramel flavor from the golden syrup (and the Maillard reaction around the edges), the Guittard Disks (which appear to be vegan) and the very chewy edges.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies For Two

I recently bought some Lyle's Golden Syrup and wanted to see how it would work in place of corn syrup. Since this was a test, I made a small batch of eggless chocolate chip cookies for two. Without eggs, the cookie recipe was very easy to scale down. Here are the measurements.

• 65 grams flour, AP or use about 65-68 grams of a gluten-free blend
• ¼ teaspoon salt, keep it scant. Use only tiny pinch if butter is salted.
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 47 grams softened unsalted butter
• 33 grams granulated sugar
• 22 grams light brown sugar
• 20 grams golden syrup
• 2 teaspoons whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• handful of chocolate chips

Small Batch Directions

To make the small batch, mix together flour, salt and baking soda. In a mixing bowl, beat together softened butter, both sugars and golden syrup. Beat in milk and vanilla, then stir in flour mixture followed by the chips. You can make the cookies any size. I used a generously portioned medium sized scoop and got 6 cookies. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at 350 for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven when the edges are brown and the centers are still pale, then let cool completely on the baking sheet. The cookies should brown more as they cool.

Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies -- Original Version

Here is the original "normal" size recipe adapted from Shirley Corriher's recipe in Bakewise. I recommend using golden syrup in place of the corn syrup. These are very thin and extra chewy. Shirley used 375 as the baking temp, so give it a try and if the cookies are heating up too quickly around the edges and too raw in the center, reduce heat to 350.

Recipe

Vegan Version

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (192 grams/6.75 oz)**
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons vegan margarine or use 5T. margarine and 5 T. shortening, room temperature (140 grams)
½ cup sugar
⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons light corn syrup (or Lyle's Golden Syrup)
2 tablespoons vegan milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
7 oz semi-sweet chocolate, cut into large chunks
½ cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (191 C). You can also use 350F and bake slightly longer. Once these start to brown, they brown quickly!

Thoroughly stir together the flour, salt and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl.

Using an electric mixer, cream vegan butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy; Add the corn syrup and then add the milk and beat well. Beat in the vanilla.

On low speed (or by hand) gradually add the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Stir in the chocolate and nuts

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls spacing 2 inches apart onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for about 10- 12 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on sheets for about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer to a rack to cool and set.

Makes about 30 (or fewer if you make your cookies larger)

**Shirley originally calls for bleached flour, but I used unbleached because that’s what I had.