Ready to make breakfast? I suggest the dunking cookies without butter and eggs made by my uncle Mauro. This recipe is his. In our family, as you can guess, we all cook. He, to make pizza, pandoro or colomba, and many doughs from cookies to maritozzi, is phenomenal. So, after seeing his dunking cookies without eggs and butter, I told myself: you have to try these right away! And so, recipe via WhatsApp, here I am presenting it to you!
I’ll explain how to prepare these big dunking cookies for breakfast or an afternoon snack, thanks to the video recipe you find below the first photo. We will use, instead of butter and eggs, milk at room temperature (rice milk is preferable as my uncle recommends), then sunflower seed oil, type 0 flour and a packet of baking powder, preferably plain (not vanilla flavored). And also brown sugar, which really characterizes these cookies both inside the dough and on top, a pinch of salt and a generous grated lemon zest. Here are the ingredients to create these breakfast cookies, ingredients we always have in the pantry and which, combined, can give life to a fragrant, crumbly cookie that will win you over!
I brought these big milk cookies to work to have my colleagues taste them. Needless to say, I brought home only an empty container and everyone was amazed by the absence of butter, because they were crumbly as if I had used it, and the eggs, which are replaced by milk and seed oil. The packet of baking powder is important to give volume to this very simple shortcrust dough.
Before moving on to today’s recipe, remember that on the blog you will find many cookie recipes and especially the special section dedicated to shortcrust pastry. The world of shortcrust pastry, from the basic recipe to cookies and tarts. I suggest saving that page among your favorites to choose a different, indulgent and easy dessert each time. Among those recipes you’ll find: oat flour cookies with ginger and chocolate chips by Annalisa, buckwheat braided cookies and my favorites: apple heart and cinnamon cookies, filled shortbreads — truly irresistible!
Remember that I wait for you every morning in the Facebook group and fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day! An unmissable appointment to start the day together with a sweet or savory treat! We are more than 21,000 people and it is wonderful to exchange good mornings every morning!
In the format you find here on the blog you can sign up, leaving your email, for the free newsletter service. One email a month, on the first of the month, with three recipes linked by a single ingredient or theme. What are you waiting for? Choose your favorite social channel and start following me!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 30 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 101.15 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 17.25 (g) of which sugars 5.82 (g)
- Proteins 2.14 (g)
- Fat 3.07 (g) of which saturated 0.46 (g)of which unsaturated 2.49 (g)
- Fibers 0.50 (g)
- Sodium 13.34 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 30 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients to make dunking cookies without butter and eggs
- 4 1/6 cups all-purpose flour (type 0)
- 3/4 + 1 cup milk (at room temperature)
- 6 tbsp sunflower seed oil
- 1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon acacia honey
- to taste lemon zest
- 1 packet baking powder (preferably plain (not vanilla flavored))
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste brown sugar (for final decoration)
If you have rice milk or rice beverage, it will work perfectly for this recipe. Always remember ingredients should be at room temperature.
Tools to prepare the big dunking cookies without butter and eggs
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Kitchen scale
- 2 Cups
- 2 Baking sheets
- 2 Parchment paper
- 1 Oven
- 1 Pastry mat
- 1 Bench scraper
- 1 Tea towel
- 1 Cooling rack
If you don’t have the plastic pastry mat for shortcrust pastry, you can use a classic slightly floured wooden pastry board. The link shows my mat so you can create your tarts or cookies with the plastic pastry mat. It washes easily and rolls up when not needed, so you can store it in the pantry without taking up space.
Steps for the recipe: dunking cookies without butter and eggs — crisp and fragrant
I start preparing the cookies by gathering all the necessary ingredients, weighing them and placing them on the work surface. I also take the bowl and set up the pastry mat, which I’ll use later to shape the butter- and egg-free breakfast cookies.
Into the bowl I pour the all-purpose flour, add the packet of baking powder and the brown sugar. I grate the zest of an edible lemon and add the teaspoon of acacia honey. Finally, the pinch of salt. I begin to work the dough with my hands and add the milk at room temperature and the sunflower seed oil I measured using the two cups, adding them little by little. I knead the shortcrust with my hands until I form a nice ball, a little sticky due to the oil and honey.
I place the dough ball on the slightly floured pastry mat and cover it with a tea towel to let it rest for about 10 minutes, which is the time it takes to preheat the oven. I set the oven to 356°F (static mode). After this time I proceed to shape the cookies.
I take two baking sheets and place a sheet of parchment paper on each. I take the bench scraper, which I’ll use to cut the big cookies. I take the shortcrust dough without butter and eggs and divide it into many small portions, from which I will then take even smaller pieces of dough. From each small ball I form little rolls, like when preparing gnocchi. They should be long and compact. Don’t make them too thin — we’re making big cookies, so keep them plump and substantial. You can see this step clearly in the video recipe.
With the bench scraper I cut many small big cookies. I made about thirty pieces weighing roughly 1.1 oz (about 30 g) each. I place them on the baking sheets and dust them with brown sugar. I bake one baking sheet at a time in the middle-lower part of the oven, letting them bake for about 12 to 15 minutes.
The cookies should be nicely golden on the outside while remaining crumbly inside. Once baked, I transfer them immediately to a cooling rack to prevent them from receiving further heat from the baking sheet. This step is important so you don’t end up with dark bottoms like they are slightly burnt.
I let the cookies cool on the kitchen counter before storing them in several lidded containers. If you have the classic tin cookie box that’s even better — the kind grandmothers used to keep sewing needles and threads in.
All that’s left is for me to wish you enjoy your meal and remind you that I wait for you every day here in my kitchen with many easy, quick and delicious recipes like this one!
Tips, storage and variations for dunking cookies without butter and eggs
Tips to make crisp and indulgent big dunking cookies: work the shortcrust dough well to obtain a compact ball. Being a shortcrust without butter and eggs, it will be more difficult than usual. Some small pieces may not want to incorporate into the rest of the dough. If necessary, oil your hands with a little seed oil to work it better. To make the dough a bit stickier, you can add another 2 teaspoons of seed oil. Try to form compact rolls and not too thin. As you can see from the photos, my cookies are not small: their weight ranges from about 0.9 to 1.1 oz (25–30 g) each, so they bake well and remain crumbly yet compact at the same time. Baking the cookies in the middle-lower part of the oven will help make them slightly firm on the bottom while staying very crumbly on the surface and inside.
Storage for the dunking cookies: as mentioned, you can store the cookies for several days in lidded plastic containers or in tin cookie boxes. They will remain crumbly and aromatic for several days. If they disappear sooner, you’ll have the excuse to make them again and again.
Recipe variations: as already mentioned, you can replace the milk with a rice beverage or rice milk. Avoid vanilla baking powder so it doesn’t mask the aroma of the honey and the brown sugar. If needed, you can replace the seed oil with about 80–90 g (about 6–7 tbsp, roughly 1/3–1/2 cup) softened butter at room temperature, so it mixes better with the other ingredients. I would avoid white sugar, as it wouldn’t give the flavor and character to these breakfast cookies.
