Eggless Cookies

Five ingredients and no eggs anywhere in sight. These are old-fashioned roll-out cookies from an era when eggs were sometimes scarce and bakers made do with what they had. Sugar and shortening get creamed together, sour milk and baking soda provide the lift and tang, and flour goes in until the dough is stiff enough to roll and cut.

Sour milk is the unsung hero here. The acid in the milk reacts with the baking soda to produce carbon dioxide bubbles, which is what gives these cookies their rise without any eggs to provide structure. The tang also adds a subtle flavor dimension that plain milk wouldn’t.

Roll the dough out, cut it into whatever shapes you want, and bake at high heat for a quick set with crisp edges. These are blank-canvas cookies, perfect for decorating with icing or eating plain with a glass of cold milk.

Kitchen Tips

• Make sour milk by adding a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of regular milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it curdles slightly.
• Add flour gradually until the dough is stiff enough to roll without sticking. The amount varies depending on humidity and flour brand, so go by feel rather than a fixed measurement.
• Don’t over-roll the dough. Re-rolling scraps develops gluten, and each re-roll produces tougher cookies.
• Bake at 425°F (220°C) and watch carefully. The high heat means they go from done to overdone in a minute.

Variations

• Vanilla sugar cookies: Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the creamed mixture for a warmer, more aromatic cookie.
• Cinnamon sugar: Sprinkle cut cookies with a cinnamon-sugar mixture before baking for a snickerdoodle-style finish.
• Frosted cutouts: Cool completely and decorate with royal icing for holiday or party cookies.