These small-batch Vanilla Cookies have a moist cake-like center and are ready in under thirty minutes from bowl to oven to tummy! No mixer is needed for this cookie batter!
If you enjoy this recipe, you might also like Bisquick chocolate chip cookies, French shortbread cookies, or these amazing small-batch peanut butter cookies.
Ingredients
- Butter – I typically use salted butter, but if you prefer unsalted butter, add a bit of salt to the recipe. To make cookies, I keep them simple and use salted butter.
- Confectioner Sugar – If you don’t have confectioners or powdered sugar, you can put regular granulated sugar in a food processor and pulse until you have fine crystals. Caster sugar can also be used.
- Vanilla Paste – I like vanilla paste because I feel it bumps the vanilla flavor; however, you can substitute equal amounts of either vanilla extract or a fresh vanilla bean. If you use a vanilla bean, slice it lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
- Egg White: Lightly beat the egg white before adding it to the mixture. Save the egg yolk for breakfast the next morning.
- Flour – use all-purpose flour; King Arthur Organic is my favorite, but whatever you have works equally well.
Tools to make the cookies
To make this recipe, you need a wooden spoon, a medium-sized bowl, a small bowl to separate the egg, a measuring cup, and spoons. No mixer is needed; mixing these types of simple recipes is easy with just a wooden spoon.
How to make cookies without eggs
You can substitute plain yogurt for eggs. As a rule, it’s 1/4 cup of yogurt for one egg. I think plain Greek yogurt works best. Since this recipe uses only one egg white, the substitution is two tablespoons of plain yogurt for one egg white.
How to make cookies without butter
Some good alternatives to butter are vegetable oil or bananas. Be warned that using bananas will reduce the crispness of most cookies. Also, you need to cut back slightly on the sugar; otherwise, you’ll end up with a way too sweet cookie. Since these vanilla cookies are soft, you can easily make a substitute. If using bananas, use a 1:1 substitute. For vegetable oil, use half the amount. If the recipe calls for 4 tablespoons butter, use 2 tablespoons oil.
Chilling the dough solidifies the fat. When you put the chilled dough or batter in the oven, the fat melts slower, and the cookies won’t spread out as much.
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Small Batch Vanilla Cookies
Ingredients
Recipe Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a medium bowl combine the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla paste. Use a wooden spoon to mix until smooth and well combined.
- In a small bowl separate the egg and beat lightly. Add the egg white only to the butter batter and mix.
- Add in the flour to the batter and mix well. The consistency of the mix will be closer to a batter than a dough.
- Scoop out onto the lined baking sheet and place it in the freezer for 5 minutes before baking.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes or until the edges begin to brown
- let cool and serve.