PITTSBURGH — Eggs have been a baker’s best friend for, well, maybe forever.

They help bind everything in a recipe together while also making the end product flavorful and tender. It’s perfection in a perfect little egg-shaped package.

Another reason to love eggs is that until recently, the delicate, protein-packed orbs have been easy to find and a relatively inexpensive recipe item found in every home cook’s refrigerator.

Avian flu, which has affected more than 23 million egg-laying chickens in some 150 commercial and backyard flocks across the U.S., has definitely changed that.

Eggs have gotten so expensive and scarce across the country that prices are up 153% over a year ago and some grocery stores have placed strict limits on how many cartons a consumer can buy in a single day.

With the Easter baking season approaching, some bakers are understandably in a slow-rise panic. At $5, $7 or even $10 a dozen for organic, pasture-raised eggs, making a batch of brownies or baking a cake seem like a luxury. Especially since it does not appear prices will return to normal anytime soon.

Yet, as those who follow a vegan diet or suffer from allergies know all too well, there are some common substitutes for eggs in recipes that work just fine and cost considerably less.

While there is no complete 1-1 substitute for an egg, there are some easy plant-based swaps home bakers can make using everyday pantry ingredients.

One of the most user-friendly is aquafaba, the liquid you find in a can of chickpeas.

A longtime friend to vegan bakers and mixologists, aquafaba is the liquid left over from cooked chickpeas. While it doesn’t add a lot of structure, it will whip into to meringue like egg whites without adding flavor or color.

The brownies I made with aquafaba were fabulous — maybe a little crumbly right out the oven, but wonderfully moist and rich in flavor. (My colleagues scarfed them down in minutes.) The liquid also works in bread, cakes and cookies.

As for the leftover chickpeas? Use them to make hummus or add them to a salad or soup

Chia and flax seeds, both of which are good sources of fiber and rich in omega-3 fatty acids, also can be used in a variety of recipes. Mixed with water, they become thick and gelatinous — almost like a paste. While you probably don’t want to use this hack in something that’s light and fluffy like pancakes (it doesn’t aerate very well), they’re great for low-rising baked goods like quick breads, cookies, bars and brownies.

I used chia “eggs” in one of my favorite family recipes — an old-fashioned banana bread made with shortening. The loaf looked, sliced and toasted up almost the same as the original recipe made with eggs.

Rather go with something a little easier to find on a grocery store aisle? If you’re making something you want to be moist, mashed banana or applesauce can come to the rescue.

Applesauce contains pectin, a natural hydrocolloid (gel) that provides structure and texture to baked goods. Banana, thanks to its sticky nature, also acts as a binder while providing moisture and sweetness.

Applesauce and mashed bananas also work as an egg substitute in quick breads, muffins and heavier cakes like pound cakes.

Pureed silken tofu, which is basically flavorless and closely resembled beaten eggs when blended in a mixer, also works well in adding moisture to quick breads and hearty muffins, and it makes one heck of a creamy, protein-packed base for chocolate mousse — with none of the cholesterol found in eggs.

Because it’s so soft and won’t hold its shape, silken tofu is not a great choice for baked goods that require a firm, crisp texture (like cookies or bread).

1/2 cups aquafaba (chickpea liquid)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Beat aquafaba with cream of tartar for 5 minutes until stiff peaks form. (I used my stand mixer with whisk attachment, but you can use an electric hand mixer.)

Slowly add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, until it’s all incorporated. It should be very fluffy at this point with stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla and set aside.

In a microwave safe bowl, add chocolate chips and butter. Melt in the microwave in 30-second intervals, whisking well at each interval, until melted.

Pour the melted chocolate/butter mixture into the aquafaba mixture and stir gently with a spatula. The aquafaba mixture will shrink at this point but that is fine.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together until combined and no clumps remain. If your cocoa is really clumpy, use a sifter.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until combined using a spatula.

Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan, even it out with a spatula and bake for 35-37 minutes until the top is shiny.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes as the brownies will firm up as they cool. Enjoy! Makes 9 brownies.

— Chef Joe Peroney, Giant Eagle

2 sticks unsalted vegan butter (if using regular butter, cut salt in half if butter is salted)

1 cup sugar

14 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 cup natural unsweetened smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and regular and brown sugar on medium until pale and fluffy,.

Add in peanut butter and mix until combined.

Add applesauce and vanilla and continue mixing until well combined.

Scrape with spatula. Slowly add in flour, baking powder and soda, cornstarch and salt and mix until just combined.

Portion dough with a quarter cup-sized ice cream scooper, place on cookie trays and put the fork indent on top.

Chill for at least one hour before baking, then dust with granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies for 15 minutes, or until cracks begin to form on top. Makes 4 dozen cookies.
— Casey Renee, Confections by Casey Renee

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

2 chia seed “eggs”*

3 large overripe bananas, mashed

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*To make a chia seed egg, mix 1 tablespoon chia seeds with 3 tablespoons water. Mix well to combine and let sit for 5 minutes until it forms a gel.

In large bowl, cream sugar and shortening together. Add chia eggs and beat until light and creamy. Add mashed bananas and mix to combine.

Fold in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well to combine, then pour into a greased or parchment paper-lined 9-by-3-inch loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is crispy brown and cake tester or toothpick placed near the center of the loaf comes out clean.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

4 1/2 ounces roughly chopped dark chocolate

1 16-ounce package organic silken tofu at room temperature, rinsed and drained

2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

Whipped cream or fresh fruit for topping, optional

Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave (low power) in 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool at room temperature.

Rinse the silken tofu and pat dry.

Add melted chocolate and blend until well combined.

Scoop the mixture into 4 ramekins or glasses and refrigerate for 30 minutes prior to serving.

Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. Serves 4.

— Eric Capozzoli, UPMC dietitian

Tribune News Service