What to Do with Leftover Egg Whites and Egg Yolks

You have no idea what to do with leftover egg whites or egg yolks? Here are some recipes for you to use them up! Scroll down if you want to know how to freeze properly. And yes, it is possible to also freeze egg yolks, just use a little trick.

#What to do with Egg Whites

 Was mit übrig gebliebenem Eiweiß und Eigelb machen und wie einfrieren#1 Make Meringue

The easiest way to use leftover egg white is to make meringue. Meringue basically means beating the egg whites with sugar until stiff and firm and then drying this mixture in the oven at low temperature. There are a lot of delicious recipes with meringue, either as frosting, as an entire part of its own or as decoration for cakes. I give you some options below, click on the links to get to the recipes.

Cute little mushrooms made with egg whites

Pumpkin Caramel Cupcakes with a meringue frosting

The Uruguayan Peach Layer Cake, which has meringue patted all around as decoration

The Colombian merengón, which means meringue, berries and whipped cream

The traditional Lemon Meringue Pie

#2 Create a wonderful Pavlova

Pavlova is very similar to meringue, however, there is a slight difference. You may wonder what exactly it is, but pavlova has a few more ingredients than meringue. Even though the process is the same and you also beat egg whites with sugar, you add a little cornstarch and vinegar towards the end. You may think that doesn’t change anything, but it most certainly does! Meringue is fairly crunchy when fresh out of the oven, however, pavlova will only be crunchy on the outside and have a much more marshmallow kind of texture in the inside. You may want to make this one with berry cream in the middle.

Meeres-Pavlova mit einer MeerjungfrauRecipe for Pavlova with Berry Cream in the Center

#3 Make the famous French Macarons

Yes, they are a little fincky, but you will get there! Macaron are perfect for leftover egg whites. In fact, I often like to make them as a special treat for friends or family. And while we are at it, I have also successfully thrown macaron baking parties! I give you lots of tips and printables in this blog post if you want to throw a baking party yourself. I highly recommend it!

strawberry macarons with no artificial food coloringRecipe for the Best Macarons

#4 Homemade Italian Buttercream or Swiss Meringue it is!

Yes, buttercream is also an option if you are on the lookout for using up egg whites. I made Italian buttercream for these delicious Oreos, but hey, you can make your favorite cake and then frost it with buttercream. Mind you, Italian buttercream is not as sweet as American buttercream, which I do enjoy. You may also make Swiss Meringue Buttercream if you like that one better.

Selbstgemachte Oreos mit KeksstempelRecipe for Italian Buttercream in these Oreos

#5 Use for Glaze or Royal Icing for Sugar Cookies or Gingerbread

Did you know that royal icing is so much easier to work with if you make it with egg whites instead of water? It dries much faster and it is also easier to paint with, I have tried, believe me. So go ahead and mix your icing sugar with egg whites. I highly recommend beating this mixture with a mixer instead of only stirring by hand, you will need much less egg white and it will also have a better texture.

How to make elephant sugar cookiesRecipe for Royal Icing for Sugar Cookies

Perfekter Lebkuchen für Baumschmuck, Dekoration, Knusperhäuschen usw.Royal icing used on gingerbread cookies

#What to do with Egg Yolks

Was mit übrig gebliebenem Eiweiß und Eigelb machen und wie einfrieren#1 Use for Custard

I am a bit ashamed to say this, but it took me a while before I finally made my own custard for the first time. It is soooo much better than any instant pudding, I swear! Custards are nice for any kind of cake filling, below I give you five options, click on the link to get to the recipe.

Creamy German cheesecake (5 egg yolks!)

Flan with 4 egg yolks

Canadian Nanaimo bars with from scratch custard layer

Colombian milk pudding, which is prepared with egg yolk

Colombian milhojas, or puff pastry filled with custard and whipped cream

Super tangy French Lemon Tartelettes

#2 Make Yellow Gold: Lemon Curd

Lemon curd is the best if you want to balance your very sweet cake/dessert with something more tangy. That’s why I love it in macarons, in pavlova or in a cupcake. Below are some recipes, all containing lemon curd.

Pavlova with Lemon Curd

Double Lemon Cupcakes

#3 Use in Pie Crust, Shortbread or Sugar Cookies

Maybe this is a German thing to do, but for any pie crust, shortbread or sugar cookie dough we like to use an egg yolk instead of water. I find it makes the dough more elastic and easier to work with. Yes, you read right. Try it before you judge me. But egg yolks are perfect for a simple dough, I can highly recommend this option! Below pie roses are most definitely easier to make when using an egg yolk instead. Check here with lots of pictures.

How to make pie rosesRecipe for Pie Crust with Egg Yolk

#4 Make my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies I tried 20 different Recipes for

Yes, there cookies do need an extra egg yolk to make them extra chewy. So if you have one egg yolk left, all I can ask you to do is to go for this recipe. You will not regret it! These are by far the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten!

best chocolate chip cookiesRecipe for chocolate chip cookies using one extra egg yolk

#5 Make Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you are more into Nutella, I can highly recommend these Nutella chocolate chip cookies. It does not require any chilling and is prepared rather quickly.

nutella chocolate chip cookieNutella chocolate chip cookies, which require one extra egg yolk

If you are too lazy to make anything in addition at the moment, how about freezing leftover egg whites and egg yolks? Yes, this is possible, but you should keep the following few points in mind. If you want to use your egg whites or yolks within one to three days, I recommend saving them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in the fridge.

#Freezing Egg Whites and Egg Yolks

#Egg whites can be frozen as is for about three months. However, I like to place each egg white into one ice cube so that I can defreeze the right amount. If you freeze all together, be sure to label your ziplock bag with the amount of egg whites and the date. Believe me, I have been grateful for that. Once ready for use, thaw in fridge and use as directed. If needed at room temeparture, thaw further at room temperature for about an hour. Kindly note that they lose the ability to stiffen up a little bit and it will take a little bit longer to beat. However, this does not mean you can’t make meringue or pavlova.

#Freezing egg yolks is a bit tricker, add a bit of salt or sugar to each yolk as they tend to dry out otherwise. Just as with egg whites, I like to freeze each separately in ice cubes, see picture. They also keep for about three months. When ready for use, thaw in fridge.

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2 Comments

  • Reply
    maria prindle
    Friday November 27th, 2020 at 09:31 AM

    Hi Jennifer, I’m writing from Tijeras, New Mexico. I love your recipies and am just wondering what kind of paper you are using when mixing your pie crust ingredients. Is it parchment? I notice that it is scrunched up so I know there’s a reason for using that instead of a bowl. I would like to try it as I am not fond of most bowls as they don’t incorporate the ingredients as I would like.

    Thank you so much and I look forward to following you.

    Maria

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Friday November 27th, 2020 at 10:01 AM

      Hi Maria, first of all: bienvenida!
      Let me try to answer your questions: Normally I use a bowl when making pie dough, but it is also possible to do it on parchment paper as seen on the pictures here: https://jennyisbaking.com/2018/04/23/ten-tips-on-how-to-deal-with-pie-crust/. I usually scrunch it up as it will move less when I make the dough. I hope this helps. Let me know if it works for you!
      Best,
      Jenny

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