25+ Egg White Recipes and instructions for storing Egg Whites in the refrigerator and freezer.
“Waste Not” is a series dedicated to reducing food waste in the kitchen. You can find older posts in this series for:
- What to Do With Leftover Pesto
- What to Do With Leftover Whipping Cream
- What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk
- What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree
- What to Do With Leftover Egg Yolks
- What to Do With Leftover Half and Half
- What to Do With Leftover Tomato Paste
Up this week: Egg Whites.
Since I make mostly small-batch recipes for the site, and small-batch recipes often call for using only part of an egg, I end up with a lot of extra egg whites.
And if you’re a regular reader of Baking Mischief, making frequent batches of Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies or Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes , maybe you do too.
Instead of throwing those whites down the sink, here are a few alternatives.
What to Do With Leftover Egg Whites
Store Egg Whites in the Refrigerator
Can you keep egg white in the fridge? Yes! Egg whites can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days .
To make storing simple, when separating your eggs, separate the whites directly into an airtight storage container (like these 1-cup pyrex storage containers ), add the date and number of whites to the lid on a piece of masking tape, and store in the fridge for later use.
Freezing Egg Whites
Egg whites also freeze well. You can store whites all together in an airtight container in the freezer or freeze whites individually in an ice cube tray before transferring egg white cubes to a freezer bag and storing for up to a year.
To defrost, place whites in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight, and they’re ready to use.
Add Egg Whites to Your Scrambled Eggs
This my favorite way to use up extra egg whites. Whisk one to two extra egg whites into two whole eggs for a scramble. It really beefs up the volume while adding very few calories and a without changing the flavor and texture too much (two whites will change the texture more than one).
But if you don’t feel like scrambled eggs this week, there are a whole lot of other things you can do with leftover egg whites:
Egg White Recipes
Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins
1 Egg White
Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins Small-batch Frosted Sugar Cookies Small-batch Lemon Sugar Cookies With Strawberry Frosting Small-batch Pumpkin Cupcakes Small-batch Chocolate Chip Muffins Small-batch Blueberry Muffins Small-batch Orange Muffins Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins One Banana, One Bowl Small-batch Banana Muffins Cinnamon Apple Crumb Muffins Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes Easy Mini Chocolate Sheet Cake Frey Pie
2 Egg Whites
Small-batch Angel Food Cupcakes Baked Coconut Shrimp from Fox and Briar Amaretti Biscuits from Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen Flourless Chocolate Cookies from As Easy as Apple Pie
Strawberry Rose Wine Macarons by Baking Sense
3 Egg Whites
Strawberry & Rosé Wine Macarons from Baking Sense Royal Icing with Egg Whites from Fine Cooking Copycat Starbucks Egg White Wrap with Spinach and Feta from Rachel Cooks Basic Chocolate Mousse from Chow Hound Peanut Butter Clouds from Once Upon a Chef
4+ Egg Whites
(4 egg whites) Easy Marshmallow Frosting (4 egg whites) Christmas Meringue Cookies from Salt and Lavender (4 egg whites) Cherry Vanilla Baked Alaska from What The Fork (4 egg whites) Lemon Pavlova with Toasted Almonds & Coconut from The Unlikely Baker (4 egg whites) Haselnussmakronen (German Hazelnut Macaroons) from Adamant Kitchen (5 egg whites) White Cake Recipe from Live Well Bake Often (5 egg whites) Italian Meringue Buttercream from Cooking With Carlee (12 egg whites) Classic Angel Food Cake from Life Made Simple
This recipe for One Peanut Butter Cookie makes a 6-inch cookie that’s the perfect size for sharing (or not) and is almost dangerously easy to make.
Feeling like your day could use a little peanut butter pick-me-up?
You could probably use a peanut butter cookie…a really big peanut butter cookie.
A Really Big Peanut Butter Cookie
At 6 to 7 inches across (about the size of your hand with fingers outstretched), this cookie’s the perfect size for sharing (or not) and dangerously easy to make. You’ll just need:
- Peanut butter
- Melted butter
- One egg yolk
- Standard cookie basics (flour, sugar, baking soda, etc.)
Since this recipe uses melted butter and you don’t need to bring your egg yolk to room temperature, it takes next to no time to make. You can whip up the cookie dough and have it ready to go by the time your oven’s done preheating.
The finished cookie is dense and very peanut buttery. The texture is the ideal combo of crumbly and chewy with edges that are just a little crispy. (This is a mini version of these Small-batch Peanut Butter Cookies , so if you’ve tried and like those, you like this.)
If you love a softer, gooier peanut butter cookie, you can slightly underbake the dough, and if crunchy is more your style, adding a minute or two to the maximum cooking time will produce a crunchier cookie.
Cookie Trouble Shooting
Really small-batch cookies like these are much less forgiving than larger batches because you’re working with such small amounts of ingredients. For best results, be sure to measure your flour by weight or using the spoon and sweep method as described in the recipe.
Occasionally, even when you do everything right, something will go wonky. This usually happens when you get a particularly large or small egg yolk, so you end up with dough that’s too wet or too crumbly. If that happens, here are a couple troubleshooting tips:
- Dough is too wet: This dough should be easy to handle and roll into a ball. If it is too sticky, add up to 1 and 1/2 tablespoons more flour, until you can handle the dough.
- Dough is too dry/crumbly: If the dough won’t come together, add milk by the half teaspoon, just enough so that everything comes together and there are no dry bits of flour at the bottom of the bowl.
Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe Notes
- Feel like making a peanut butter cookie sundae? Top the warm cookie with a couple scoops of ice cream and Easy Chocolate Sauce or Quick Peanut Butter Sauce and Whipped Cream .
- Please note, the cookie in these photos was shot on a quarter baking sheet , not standard. It will be 6-7 inches across, not cookie-pizza sized.
- For more desserts for two , try Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies , Chocolate Soufflés , Small-batch Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, and Small-batch Cupcakes .
Ingredients
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 50g ) peanut butter (creamy or chunky, not natural peanut butter)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14g ) salted butter melted
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 25g ) brown sugar
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 13g ) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg yolk
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 30g ) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method*
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ Pinch of salt if using unsalted butter, use 1/8 teaspoon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, melted butter, brown and granulated sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until well-combined.
- Add flour, baking soda, and salt, and use a spoon to stir until just combined.
- Form cookie dough into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Use a fork to press crosshatch patterns over the dough until pressed to about 1/2-inch thick (the cookie will spread more as it bakes).
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges of the cookie are just beginning to darken and the top looks set. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes so the cookie has time to firm up. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
40+ Egg Yolk Recipes to use up leftover egg yolks and instructions for storing egg yolks in the refrigerator.
Welcome to the latest edition of “Waste Not,” a series dedicated to reducing food waste in the kitchen. You can find older posts in this series for:
- What to Do With Leftover Pesto
- What to Do With Leftover Whipping Cream
- What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk
- What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree
- What to Do With Leftover Half and Half
- What to Do With Leftover Tomato Paste
Last week, I wrote a “Waste Not” post for Egg Whites with 25+ Egg White Recipes for using up leftovers. Today, we’re doing the flip side, What to Do With Leftover Egg Yolks.
Maybe you’ve made some Small-batch Cupcakes or Angel Food Cake and have some extra yolks sitting around. Here’s what you should do with them…
What to Do With Egg Yolks
Storing Egg Yolks in the refrigerator
Egg yolks can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If the yolks are broken, use them as soon as possible as they will dry out quickly. For unbroken yolks, cover with a tablespoon or two of water to keep them from drying out and pour off water before using. Refrigerated egg yolks stored this way should keep for two to four days .
Freezing Egg Yolks
I don’t generally recommend freezing egg yolks. They’re finicky to store and don’t keep as well as egg whites. You’re usually better off just making a batch of egg yolk cookies and freezing the cookies instead. BUT, if you have a lot of egg yolks and want to give it a try, Eggs.ca has a good article on freezing yolks .
Don’t feel like storing your yolks? Cook them into something good instead…
Egg Yolk Recipes
The following recipes all call for egg yolks. Some call for extra egg yolks in addition to whole eggs. Those recipes are written as (x extra yolks).
Small-batch M&M Cookies (No Chill)
1 Egg Yolk
One Peanut Butter Cookie for Two Small-batch Snickerdoodles Small-batch Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting One-bowl Small-batch Sugar Cookies (3 Ways) One Chocolate Chip Cookie for Two (Three Ways) Easy Shepherd’s Pie With Ground Beef (Dinner for Two) Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes (Small-batch) Small-batch Oatmeal Cookies with Icing Small Batch of Cut-out Sugar Cookies (No-chill) Small-batch M&M Cookies (No Chill) Small-batch Peanut Butter Cookies Small-batch Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies Small-batch Oreo Cupcakes Small-batch Homemade Hostess Cupcakes Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Small-batch Chocolate Mini M&M Cookies No-chill Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Small-batch Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls With Espresso Glaze Chocolate Souffles for Two With Creme Anglaise Small-batch Gingerbread Cookies With Faux Royal Icing Small-batch Giant Christmas Cookies Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls for Two
Eggs Benedict Quiche with Hollandaise Sauce from The View From Great Island
2 to 3 Egg Yolks
(2 yolks) Dark Chocolate Pudding from She Loves Biscotti (2 yolks) Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies from My Gluten-free Kitchen (2 yolks) Prize Winning Key Lime Pie Recipe from Souffle Bombay (2 yolks) Lemon Curd from Beyond The Chicken Coop (2 extra yolks) Small-batch Mini Pumpkin Eclairs (3 yolks) Low Carb Egg Noodles from Low Carb Yum (3 yolks) French Maple Buttercream from Cooking With Carlee (3 extra yolks) Vegetarian Carbonara Recipe with Spaghetti from Umami Girl (3 extra yolks) Whole 30 Eggs Benedict from The Organic Kitchen (3 extra yolks) Eggs Benedict Quiche with Hollandaise Sauce from The View From Great Island
Vanilla Creme Brûlée The Suburban Soapbox
4+ Egg Yolks
(4 yolks) Pink Cream Puffs (4 yolks) Dairy-Free Banana Pudding from My Sequined Life (4 yolks) Game Of Thrones Ice Cream Recipe from Let’s Eat Cake (5 yolks) Dreamy and Decadent Chocolate Mousse from Christina’s Cucina (5 yolks) Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream from The Suburban Soapbox (5 yolks) Lemon Pie from Live Well Bake Often (6 yolks) Homemade Eggnog Pudding from Plating Pixels (6 yolks) Dandelion & Honey Ice Cream from Practical Self-reliance (6 yolks) Maple Pots de Crème from Joyfully Mad (10 yolks) Creamy Leche Flan Recipe from The Unlikely Baker (10 yolks) Vanilla Creme Brûlée from The Suburban Soapbox (12 yolks) Vintage Gold Cake from Cooking With Carlee
