These rich, slightly cakey egg yolk cookies are just as tasty as any chocolate chip cookies.
I’m obsessed with meringue-based desserts like macarons and angel food cake!
But the problem is I always end up with many extra egg yolks. Besides stocking up on pie crusts and making ice creams, I wanted to try making cookies.
Thanks to the wonderful friend, Google, I came across this recipe, and wanted to give it a go. But I did make a few minor changes. They turned out great. Rich, cake-like cookies. Saving this for next time I need to put the extra egg yolks to a good use.
Did I mention it’s super easy to make this recipe? You hardly need any special equipment. I did use my stand mixer, but regular electric hand-mixer will do just fine. Here is step-by-step photos.
Egg Yolk Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 1/2 cups (310g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ½ cup (60g) walnuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts optional
- ¼ cup (60g) chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350°F (177°C).
- In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In large mixing bowl with paddle attachment, or using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg yolk mixture and continue mixing until well combined, scraping down the sides couple times.
- Stir in flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix just until well combined.
- Add nuts and chocolate chips, if desired.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, form into 1.5-inch balls and place them on baking sheets with plenty of space to spread. Flatten the dough slightly before baking.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are set.
Nutrition Facts:
Gayel says
Thankyou so much for sharing this recipe. We all love it and I have another recipe that uses 6 egg whites so it was perfect.
Shinee says
Yay, so happy you tried my recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Gayel!
Ann Russell says
Made a pavlova and had egg yolks over and I hate waste so tried these cookies. OMG I’ve just had one – crunchy on the outside and slightly warm on the inside (not long out of the Owen). I didn’t have cream of tartare so used baking powder instead, added crushed walnuts, cherries and chocolate chips. Absolutely to die for. Thank you so much. A little messy to work with but so worth it.
Shinee says
Yay, so happy you tried and loved these cookies, Ann. Thanks for your feedback!
Pam Castro says
Delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Shinee says
So happy you enjoyed them. Thank you for your feedback, Pam!
Hayley says
Used up leftover egg yolks from poppy seed cake. Great biscuit cookies, a tad to salty for my personal taste but easily rectified. I added walnut, fudge pieces and choc chips.
Shinee says
Glad you enjoyed the cookies, Hayley. Make sure to use unsalted butter, or don’t add any salt if you opt for salted butter.
Pam Kellow says
Easy biscuit recipe ,useing the spare egg yolks from making jiggly cake .
I put in 6 Oz’s ground almonds ,came out GORGEOUS .xx
Shinee says
Sounds delish!! Thanks for your feedback, Pam!
Christine Rae says
I faithfully followed the recipe and triple checked everything, but the mixture was very dry and crumbly. I had to add an extra yolk and ¼ cup of milk for it to work. In the end I spread the whole mixture onto a baking tray and cooked it for about 20 mins, then cut through it into squares (and ate the straggly offcuts!) In the end it turned out fine. I added Choc chips but no nuts.
Shinee says
Hi, Christine. Thanks for trying my recipe and sharing your feedback. I’m curious how did you measure your flour, by cup or on a scale?
Lee R Carson says
I love merengue cookies, but then needed to use the egg yolks. I am so glad I found this recipe. It is easy to make and really very delicious. Thank you!!!! I added choc chips but no nuts. After seeing other comments, I think I will try the cranberry and white choc chip. Or maybe cherries and white choc chips?
Leo Lyon says
Yup, made them, added raisins and crushed almonds instead… easy, quick, tasty, done before load shedding. I am not a baker. Thank you
Shinee says
So happy you loved the recipe. Thanks for your feedback, Leo!
Ann Lynch says
Great way to use egg yolks. Very easy, delicious! Next time will add dried cranberries.
Shinee says
Thank you so much for your feedback, Ann!!!
Ilka Howell says
Loved this recipe. Regularly make friands and have egg yolks left over. This was easy to make and the cookies had a great texture. I’m in Australia and was unsure of the yield of a medium cookie scoop so used our standard tbsp measure (20ml), and also left in the oven a couple more minutes. I added cranberries and white choc chips – delicious! Will make again!
Shinee says
Yay, so happy you tried and loved this recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Ilka!
stefanie says
i had baked french macarons a few days ago and had so many leftover yolks. i’m so glad i found this recipe!! i didn’t even add any chocolate chips or other add-in’s, yet i really love how the cookies came out :)) thank you so much!!
Shinee says
Yay, so happy you tried and loved the recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Stefanie!
Kayla says
Just made these tonight. 1/2 recipe. Used coconut sugar instead ( and made into bars and not cookies. I did think they were on the dry side, but still good. Goes great with a cup of coffee or tea. Not to sweet. I added dark chocolate chunks. No nuts because I didn’t have them.
Shinee says
Thank you for your feedback, Kayla! I love dunking these cookies in my tea too!
Cam says
Hi Shinee. I’m about to make your recipe. Do you have a weight for the amount of dough for each cookie? Sincere thanks
Shinee says
Hi, Cam. No, I don’t weigh the dough balls.
Jessica says
These cookies are amazing! My scoop was probably a little bigger it took 12 minutes to bake but wow the flavor I love them.
I had all the yokes from wanting an angel food cake so I did a double batch of this recipe and now I don’t even care about the angel food cake 😋
Shinee says
Hahaha great combo though!! I also make these cookies when I make angel food cake. 🙂 Thank you for your feedback, Jessica!
Caroline says
Great use of left over yolks!
Shinee says
Thanks, Caroline!
Suené says
I tried this with gluten-free self-raising flour and my cookies turned out delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Allison says
Hi! I am having trouble finding cream of tartar; is there a substitute you recommend?
Shinee says
Hi, Allison. You may use a little bit of lemon juice instead.
Emma says
Hello, I’ve just made these and I’m wondering if I can freeze them, and how long they will last?
Shinee says
Hi, Emma. Yes, you can totally freeze these cookies. Place them in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.