As an Early Childhood Educator, I came into contact with a lot of children with food allergies. A lot of them severe, I often wondered about the day I would send my child to school and how I could make his lunches dairy/egg free should there be a need for it.

My son had a berry allergy when he was younger, and although he somehow outgrew it, I know how important it is to be aware of food allergies!

A lot of parents baked with their kids on the weekend, and it was so sweet to see the peanut, nut, dairy, and sometimes egg free muffins or baked goods in the childrens’ lunches that week!

It was so inspiring. I will never forget when one of the kids gifted me toffee/caramel flavoured popcorn that they made at home and decorated in a glass jar for Christmas! Kids love getting involved in the kitchen, and who doesn’t love to eat sweet treats?

I try to bake without eggs from time to time. I have tried to substitute some of the eggs in my recipes with applesauce, and this recipe is a hit in our house!

With the Holidays already gone, we have so many candy canes lying around the house. I thought – what better way to incorporate them into our cookie recipe??

I hope you enjoy our Eggless Candy Cane Cookies!

Recipe

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
  • 1 applesauce snack cup (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Candy Canes, crushed
  • Red Food Colouring (Optional)*

1) Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F.

2) In a large bowl, whisk the butter with your sugar. Beat until fluffy!

3) Add in your peppermint extract and applesauce. Whisk together until combined (you’ll notice that your mixture will be clumpy – don’t worry, your dough will be super smooth and buttery once it’s finished).

4) In a separate bowl, combine your flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Slowly fold in your dry ingredients into your wet mixture a half of a cup at a time. Your dough will look smooth and creamy once combined!

5) Carefully fold in almost all of your crushed candy canes (save some to top your cookies with). I also add a few drops of my red food colouring at this point, but I don’t fully mix it in with all of my dough (this way you get some red swirls into your cookie dough).

6) This recipe yields about 12 cookies. Scoop out the mixture by the tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half. Roll into balls, place on a lined cookie sheet, and top with your leftover candy canes!

7) Bake for 10 minutes. Your cookies should be a light, golden yellow-brown. Wait 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!!

TKM

xo