You might be thinking “eggs are eggs, right?,” but trust me when I say that if a recipe calls for a specific size or temperature of egg, there’s a reason.
First, let’s talk about the size. Most recipes will call for Large or Extra Large eggs. For instance, all of the cookie recipes in my bakebook call for Extra Large eggs, while some of the cakes and bakes call for Large. The main difference is the amount of egg white in each egg. So, if you find yourself about to bake a recipe that calls for Extra Large eggs and only have Large on hand, don’t panic! Just add the white of one more egg to your bowl and continue.
Next, the temperature of your eggs makes a difference for some recipes. My cookie dough loves to be cold, so the recipes call for cold eggs. However, a lot of cake or delicate baked good recipes will call for room temperature eggs. The reason for this is that room temperature eggs are less viscous than cold eggs, which allows them to mix into the batter better and rise more easily. It can also affect the baking time of a cake, for instance. If you use cold eggs instead of room temperature, the cake will take longer to bake. To get your cold eggs to be room temperature, you can simply leave them on the counter for 30 minutes or set them in a bowl of warm water for 3 - 5 minutes.
A little pro tip for you if you get eggshell in your mixture: just use part of the shell to remove it. Because shell attracts shell. Eggcellent!
