Saturday, December 18, 2010

Egg-Free Sugar Cookies with Egg-Free Royal Icing

Egg-Free Sugar Cookies Photo Credit: Ryan Rivera

Every Christmas Eve, my family and I would make sugar cookies together.  We'd decorate them and, of course, eat them.  But my son would always make sure that we leave a plateful of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa before we go to sleep.

On Christmas morning, he rushes down the stairs to see if Santa ate the cookies. When he sees an empty plate and empty glass, he starts jumping up and down in excitement. "Santa was here! Santa was here!" And then he makes a mad dash to the Christmas tree and the joy of opening presents soon follows. It's these special moments during the holidays that I treasure so much. I just feel so blessed that I'm able to have these wonderful traditions with my kids despite their food allergies.
Egg-Free Sugar Cookies

These egg-free sugar cookies are sort of an updated version of the Christmas sugar cookies I posted a couple of years ago.  I've made a few adjustments to the recipe to make them easier to roll and cut into shapes.  You can also make slice-and-bake cookies with this dough if you're short on time.  Just roll the cookie dough into a log, chill it in the fridge until firm and then just slice and bake them. 

XMAS cookies Photo Credit: Ryan Rivera

I also figured out how to make an egg-free royal icing that pipes very smoothly and dries hard just like regular royal icing.  I'm planning to use this royal icing for some gingerbread houses we're planning to make this week. I tested it out on my little gingerbread man and he seems to be happy with it.

gingerbread man

Happy Holidays everyone and have fun making delicious desserts!

Egg-Free Sugar Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
Allergy Note: contains wheat and dairy ingredients

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a bow. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla extract and milk.  Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Divide the cookie dough in half, form them into discs and wrap them in wax paper or plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour or until slightly firm.   

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, take out one of the discs and roll it to about 1/4 inches thick. Cut into shapes and transfer onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. This dough can get a little too soft to handle at room temperature so you may have to return it to the refrigerator after rolling and cutting your first batch of cookies. You can bring out the second disc when you're ready to roll and cut the second batch for baking.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the golden brown around the edges. Cool completely before decorating.

Egg-Free Royal Icing
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
Allergy Note: contains dairy ingredients

2 oz. cream cheese, softenend to room temperature
2 Tbs. corn syrup
1 tsp. flavoring or extract (vanilla, peppermint, lemon, almond)
1/4 cup milk
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
food coloring (for best results, use gel or paste like Wilton Icing Colors)

Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, corn syrup and flavoring until smooth. Mix in milk.  Slowly add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time until the frosting is at the desired consistency. Decorate the cookies either by piping the icing using a pastry bag or spreading it onto the cookie with a spoon or an offset spatula. Allow the icing to dry for 24 hours before transfering the decorated cookies.

Please check these Art of Dessert links for additional decorating tips and icing recipes:
Egg-Free Gingerbread Man (with dairy-free alternative)
Egg-Free Gingerbread House(with dairy-free alternative)
Egg-Free Christmas Sugar Cookies 

30 comments:

Unknown said...

Wonderful, thank you for sharing your recipe.
My friend is allergic to eggs so I will be directing her to your blog.

shewhisks said...

This is a great post, i love sugar cookies and this would be perfect for kids at a birthday party without having to worry about the children with egg allergies x

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this. I can't wait to try the recipe out. My two sons are both allergic to eggs. I'm so glad that they will now be able to join in on the cookie decorating and most importantly, cookie EATING tradition. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! - Grace

Anonymous said...

Lovely Christmas themed cookies.

Michelle S. said...

I have used other egg free sugar cookie recipes but they turn out a little too crunchy for me. I was searching around looking for a new one and came across your blog. I think we'll give it a try! BTW, to make it dairy free is easy (I need that too) use Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks (this is the best product in my opinion) and change the milk to soy milk or water. Poof, dairy free! The royal icing might me trickier! I usually just make a vanilla frosting slightly looser and pipe it on. Thanks! Merry Christmas

Sylvia said...

these are awesome! thank you so much for sharing :)

Anonymous said...

Have you tried freezing these? I love decorating cookies for EVERY occasion. My daughter doesn't have any allergies but there are many, including egg, in her preschool. I'd like to try this recipe for valentine's heart cookies but make them ahead of time and freeze them.
BTW...I made your chocolate chip cookies and they were great! I shared the recipe with the daycare so they could make them for the kids as well. Today I'll try the double chocolate cookies!
thanks! Great site!

Shaile's Edible Art said...

This is great that you are sharing an eggless cookie recipe.. I am making cookies tomorrow and will try this one..

Shaile's Edible Art said...

thanks for sharing this eggless recipe.. i am making cookies tomorrow and will try these. if this posted twice it didn't look like it went through the first time

Art of Dessert said...

Thanks for stopping by Shaile! Let me know what you think :-)

Amy said...

Just made a batch of these for Halloween - they are gorgeous and delicious. I had to add a little extra butter to get the dough to the right consistency, but otherwise, perfection! For a novice baker like me, dabbling in egg free recipes because my daughter is allergic, these were easy and so professional looking. Thanks a million - can't wait to try some of your other recipes!

Kristy said...

Finding your website has been a lifesaver! My son is allergic to eggs, peanuts, and milk and you have allowed him to have things he couldn't have before. Thank you for sharing!

Melissa Douthart said...

I have all kinds of food allergies and your blog made it possible for me to have 'treats' again! Thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

My son has a dairy allergy as well. Would the Earth Balance tub margarine work as a substitution for the butter?

Anonymous said...

My daughter is allergic to egg, dairy, soy protein, nuts, coconut and the list goes on. For a butter/margerine substitute, we use Flieshmans UNSALTED margerine sticks. Works great in recipes and is easy to find (local grocery store vs. health food store) as well as being inexpensive. They also make a tub version which is great for spreading on toast.

Anonymous said...

Thank you! I have recently been diagnosed with food allergies (including eggs) and really didn't want to give up this tradition with my family! God Bless you and have a very Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much! My daughter has severe egg allergy and I have been searching for a cut-out recipe for Christmas. Thank you!!

Tricia said...

I can not even stress how excited I am to find this website! My 5 year old son is allergic to eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, corn, dairy, and pumpkin. I'm so happy to find some amazing desserts to make that are safe finally!

Anonymous said...

I have a quick question about the recipe. The cookies take 1 cup of butter? (The 3/4 is crossed out?) Thank you!

Art of Dessert said...

Yes. I originally wrote down 3/4 cup but changed it to 1 cup to make the dough easier to roll.

Sharie said...

My daughter and I baked the sugar cookies and gingerbread people yesterday and they are fantastic! My husband said these are the best gingerbread cookies we've ever made. I did have trouble with the gingerbread dough after refrigerating it for 3+ hours. When we tried to roll it out it was very sticky and I almost gave up. But we worked in more flour by hand until it felt 'right' and the rest is history. We're hosting a Christmas cookie decorating party this evening and one of the guests has an egg allergy. I can't wait till she tastes these. Thank you so much!

Lauren said...

Ahh! Thank you!!!! I've been in desperate need of an egg free royal icing for some time now. My youngest is very allergic. I'm so excited to make gingerbread men this year!!!!

Lauren said...

Just finished making a double batch of the icing! It looks like the perfect consistency! So excited to make cookies with the kids this afternoon. Thanks again!

Karla said...

I made these for my egg-allergic cousin this Christmas and loved.the icing so much I use it all the time now. The cream cheese makes it absolutely delicious, and it pipes and dries wonderfully. Thanks so much for these recipes!

Anonymous said...

I made a batch of these in a heart shape for Valentines day and sent them to daycare with my daughter to share with all the kids in her class. They turned out beautifully and even amazed myself!! There are a lot of very happy little kids running around!! Daycare is an egg free zone due to some kids with allergies, including my daughter. Thanks so much for all your wonderful recipes!

Anonymous said...

How do you think these will go using margarine instead of butter??? My little lady has dairy and egg allergies!

Jenny said...

We used to use Fleischmann's Unsalted as well until we realized it has whey in it, which is a milk derivative. Because of all my daughter's allergies we've pretty much resorted to using Spectrum All Vegetable (Palm) Shortening or coconut oil. Going to try this recipe tomorrow using the palm shortening.

Jenny said...

We used to use Fleischmann's Unsalted as well until we realized it had whey in it, which is a milk derivative. Since then we started using Spectrum all vegetable (palm) shortening or coconut oil in place of butter in recipes. I'm going to try this recipe using the palm shortening tomorrow.

Angela said...

Thank you! I don't have any egg allergy issues, but I'm planning to have my daughter who is not quite 2 and her cousin who is 2.5 make cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. My sister in law is a nervous nelly and I know raw egg in the dough or icing would be a no-go, and I really want the kids to get their hands dirty without having to worry about salmonella. These look like they'll be great!

Bunnyslady said...

Thank you so much for sharing these recipes. My daughter is highly allergic to eggs and peanuts so we are never able to grab some of those beautifully decorated ones made by the professionals. She turned 3 in July and has really become interested in what I am doing in the kitchen. Now I will be able to share the experience of baking cookies with her. XOXOXO

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