Looking for a delicious way to use up extra egg yolks? Try these egg yolk cookies! They’re rich and slightly cakey with just the right amount of chew.
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I’m obsessed with meringue-based desserts like macarons and angel food cake!
But the problem is I always end up with extra egg yolks. Besides stocking up on pie crusts and ice cream, I wanted to try chocolate chip cookies!
I came across this cookie recipe and decided to give it a go. I made a few minor changes, and they turned out great.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
If you’re an avid baker, you know that many recipes call for egg whites instead of whole eggs. Don’t throw out those extra yolks!
Chocolate chip cookies are a quick and easy way to use them up. These buttery cookies are …
- Light and chewy
- Easy to customize
- Perfect for freezing
- Made with pantry staples
Egg yolks cause the cookies to puff up for a rich but soft-baked chocolate chip cookie! They pair especially well with a cup of coffee with sweet cream cold foam!!! (Any Starbuck’s fans here?)
Key Ingredient Notes:
- Egg yolks – Egg yolks have a higher fat content than egg whites which creates a soft texture in chocolate chip cookies.
- Unsalted butter – Butter provides structure and makes the cookies tender and moist!
- Sugar – Along with sweetness, sugar encourages the cookie dough to spread.
- All-purpose flour – The thickness and texture of a cookie depends on the amount of flour it contains. The right ratio produces a melt-in-your-mouth cookie.
- Mix-ins – Chocolate chips and nuts are the ultimate cookie combo, but the sky is the limit. White chocolate, sprinkles, M&M’s, peanut butter chips, or chopped caramels are great options!
How to make egg yolk cookies:
Egg yolk cookies are easy to make, with no special equipment necessary. I used a stand mixer, but a hand-held electric mixer works great too!
1. Make the dough
- First, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This process creates tiny pockets of air that puff up in the oven creating a chewy cookie!
- And in another small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and vanilla extract.
- Add the egg yolk mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until well combined. It’s important to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to incorporate all the eggs.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Avoid overmixing the cookie dough! Overmixed dough can result in flat and dense cookies. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts.
2. Shape and bake
Using a medium cookie scoop, form cookie dough balls and place them onto a lined baking sheet.
Be sure to give the cookies space so they can spread. Flatten them a little before baking.
Tip
Cookie scoop helps to shape uniform sizes and makes the process super fast!
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The edges should be set while the centers still look under baked. If the entire cookie looks done when it comes out of the oven, it’s overbaked!
Tips for Success:
- Make sure your butter is room temperature. If you forget to leave it out, microwave the cold butter in 5-second intervals until slightly soft.
- I encourage weighing the flour for accuracy to prevent dry dough, which is often caused by adding too much flour.
- The cookies will set up as they cool. Let them cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Resist overbaking the cookies. The centers will still look slightly wet or underdone when you remove them from the oven.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to prevent the cookies from sticking. Silicone baking mats are reusable and easy to clean!
Make-Ahead Tips:
- While not necessary, feel free to make the cookie dough up to two days in advance. Store in the refrigerator then bake as directed.
- Freeze pre-scooped cookie dough balls for easy baking! Simply scoop the cookie dough onto a sheet pan then place it in the freezer. Transfer the frozen cookie dough to a freezer bag and freeze. Bake the cookies from frozen, 1-2 minute longer.
Storing Tips:
- Before storing the cookies, let them cool down completely.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 4 days.
- Store baked cookies in the freezer too! Place the cooled cookies in a freezer bag and freeze for up to three months.
- Let the egg yolk cookies thaw at room temperature or microwave one cookie in 5-second intervals until warmed through.
FAQs:
There are numerous recipes that call specifically for egg yolks. Custard, ice cream, mayonnaise, carbonara, hollandaise sauce, coconut cream pie, chocolate pudding, crème brulee, and chocolate chip cookies are all great recipes to use those extra yolks!
No, you don’t need to chill the cookie dough. Chilling cookie dough prevents it from spreading too thin. These cookies are the perfect thickness already!
Cookies continue to cook and set up as they cool. If you leave the cookies in the oven too long, the cookies will harden too much. Cookies should look slightly underdone in the middle so they set up soft and chewy.
More ways to use egg yolks:
There are numerous recipes that you can use extra yolks! Try one of these delicious recipes next time you need to use them up.
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Egg Yolk Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups (310g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder Note 1
- 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 powder 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.
Tips & Notes
– Before storing the cookies, let them cool down completely.
– Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
– Store baked cookies in the freezer too! Place the cooled cookies in a freezer bag and freeze for up to three months.
Nutrition
Made these as I had 5 yolks to do something with! Brilliant! I substituted choc chips for M&Ms. They turned out really well. Minis work best!
Yay, Monica, so happy you give it a try!! And glad you loved them. Thank you for your feedback!
I had 6 egg yolks left over after making a birthday cake. I found this recipe that used all the yolks and was delighted with how delicious the cookies came out. I made mine with milk chocolate chips and just followed the recipe. Thanks for the recipe. Every time I make a cake, I will be making these cookies.
Yay, I’m so happy you found this recipe to use up your leftover egg yolks!! And I’m so happy you loved it too! Thank you so much for your feedback, Donna.
This is a wonderful recipe to use all those yolks! Thank you for this. I made small adjustment. 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of light brown sugar. I used chopped pecans as per the recipe and pressed a half of a pecan into each cookie. Everyone loved it!
Hi, Rachel. Thank you for trying my recipe and sharing your experience. Your version sounds delightful!
For some reason after following directions, mine never flattened out into a cookie. The stayed in the same flattened ball shape from the cookie scooper. Not sure what happened, however the cookie crumbles were very tasty and I can use them over ice cream. Any idea what I did wrong? Thank you
Hi, Teresa. Hmm, I suspect a little too much flour was added? These cookies don’t tend to spread as much, that’s why we flatten the dough balls. But they do spread slightly.
I made these with intentions not to waste egg yolks from separating for egg whites for another dish.
The first batch when scooped did not spread like a normal cookie, so the next two batches I flattened a bit with the back of a spoon.
I cut the sugar in half as my sister and I don’t care for too much sugar and it turned out good.
Thanks for a great recipe so I can continue my Zero Waste living!
I made these with almond flavoring, almond slices and dark chocolate chips! Has anyone tried them with gluten free flour blend?
I thought about it because I prefer GF desserts, but didn’t want to chance it not turning out. I had coconut flour on hand but it tends to be salty in my opinion.
Idk if it was mentioned in the blog as I just hit “jump to recipe” 🙃
I’ll repost a comment when trying with GF flour.
Yes – tried it with Anita’s gluten free flour and it worked very well. Had to cook them for about 4 minutes extra since they did not look close to done after 12 minutes but that was the only change I made to the recipe.
Had a bunch of excess yolks left from another recipe so I made these with chocolate salted caramel chips & walnuts. They were amazing!
Yay, so happy you loved the cookies. Thanks for your feedback, Monica!
I have been trying out some different things with this recipe, excellent, thank you for sharing your.
Fabulous! I will definitely make these again, they are easy to make and taste delicious.