Every time I start to try an egg-free recipe for cookies or some baked good I always brace myself for the first bite and prepare for the worst. Baking has been the hardest challenge when it comes to making foods for my daughter who has multiple food allergies and eggs are the hardest to avoid. Eggs are such a superhero ingredient in baking with many different roles that are hard to mimic.

I, of course, have to tried to figure out an amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe, brownies, cakes, etc., most of which taste pretty fair, but certainly have a hard time comparing in texture and overall taste to their “regular” recipe rivals. So, imagine my surprise when I baked a batch of oatmeal cookies that were the BEST I have ever had! This was a vegan recipe but full disclosure—I didn’t make it the full vegan way. I actually used regular butter and milk because we can use those ingredients just fine. Take a look at this babies and tell me you don’t want to eat these—right now!

You are supposed to make them into oatmeal cream pies but the oatmeal cookies were so delicious on their own—I didn’t even feel the need to do the frosting in between. I loved them so much I threw in some chocolate chips into my second batch to make them oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and they were exceptional!

(This may or may not have been me sneaking some of the dough—especially because there are no eggs in it so my pregnant self could eat the whole dang bowl if I wanted to! :) )

This recipe calls for a “flax egg” which is an egg substitute where you can take 1 tablespoon of either flax seed or flax seed mill and combine it with 3 tablespoons water, let it sit for a few minutes and it makes a great, gooey substitute for egg. Admittedly, this was the first time I had actually tried it because I had always been quite worried it wouldn’t turn out for some reason but boy was I wrong! It was so successful I can’t wait to try to convert some of my favorite recipes (my go-to chocolate chip recipe!) and see how it turns out with the flax seed egg.

So can you change a vegan recipe and mix in your normal ingredients like adding in milk, butter, or eggs? Sure! I have always had great success with this. I just do the same conversions:

1 stick of vegan butter = 1 stick regular butter

1 tablespoon nut milk = 1 tablespoon regular milk

I don’t know if this recipe for oatmeal cookies could have possibly gotten better with a regular egg, so if you happen to have milled flax seed in your cupboard, you might as well stick to the recipe and try out a “flax egg” and get a little more Omega 3’s in your cookies while you’re at it ;) They will surely not disappoint.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Cream Pies

Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) vegan butter, softened (I used 2 sticks regular butter)
1/3 cup cane sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons flax seeds soaked in 6 tablespoons of water for a few minutes)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups oats 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Make flax eggs in a cup and set aside to soak. Combine softened vegan butter, sugars, and vanilla in your mixing bowl and whip until fluffy. Next add the flax eggs, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda (in that order). Once combined (should look soupy) add the flour and oats, mix well. On a parchment lined baking sheet, scoop rounded tablespoons of the cookie dough and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before making the vanilla buttercream below.

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) vegan butter, softened (can use regular butter)
2 cups powder sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla almond milk (or other milk, I'm not a fan of soy in this recipe)
1 teaspoon vanilla

I usually set out the stick of butter used for this buttercream at the beginning when I am making the cookies so it is the perfect level of softness when I go to make this buttercream later. Otherwise you could just nuke it for a few seconds. Now, combine all the ingredients above in a mixing bowl and whip with a whisk until fluffy and free of lumps. You may or may not need to add more milk or powder sugar to reach your desired consistency, but it should be smooth enough to spread and thick enough to stay on the cookie and not make too much of a mess when you sandwich the second cookie on top.

Once you have created your sandwiches, keep them in an air tight container in the refrigerator until ready to eat! I love eating them cold, but they are delicious the second you make them at room temp too!

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