Making eggless sugar cookies that are not overly dense and have some lightness is very possible. One of the first tips is to make sure the butter or fat being used in the recipe is at room temperature before starting to mix. Next, the initial step of creaming the sugar and butter should be done until the mixture is light but not over-beaten. In some instances, baking soda and cream of tartar can be used to provide some leavening to the cookies, while using powdered sugar can help keep the dough light so it can rise. Keeping the dough chilled until the moment of cooking can help to maintain all the air that was incorporated in the mixing process.
The main goal of making eggless sugar cookies is to prevent the cookies from baking into flat, hard medallions. One way this can be achieved is to ensure that the butter being used in the cookies is at room temperature before making the dough. This will make it easier to cream and make it easier for air to get trapped inside the butter, which will translate during cooking into lighter cookies.
The first step in making eggless sugar cookies usually is to cream the butter and sugar. Using powdered sugar can help to create a lighter dough, because it will dissolve faster and more completely, avoiding situations in which large crystals or clumps could form. While actually creaming the butter and sugar together, incorporating air will lighten the dough. This can be done with a whisk or spoon by stirring in wide circles and attempting to catch as much air as possible.
When it is time to add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter, it can help to sift the ingredients together and then slowly add them to the butter mixture. Using cream of tartar will help to stabilize the air pockets in the cookies, and a little baking soda will help to give the eggless sugar cookies some lift. It also is important at this stage not to mix the dough too much, because a point will come when the air in the dough will start being released, creating a flat cookie. Humidity and other factors can affect the amount of flour or other dry ingredients necessary, so it is important to add only enough so the dough comes together and is not sticky.
Keeping the dough for eggless sugar cookies chilled will prevent the butter from becoming soft and the dough from potentially separating or becoming flat. It also can sometimes help to roll out the chilled dough on a board or surface that has been chilled. When the cookies finally are placed into the oven to cook, the last tip is to make sure the oven is well heated so the cookies do not have a chance to spread too much and lose volume.
