Monday, April 11, 2011

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

I think if I gave someone one of these cookies, and asked them to guess at the ingredients, I'd get answers like butter, flour and chocolate. Well all of those would be wrong. The truth is, these passover-friendly and gluten-free cookies have just three basic ingredients: egg whites, cocoa powder and confectioners sugar.

The cookies are super-rich, with an intense chocolate flavor that isn't muted by any other ingredients. They also get nice, shiny cracked tops, which make a nice presentation. Plus, they're practically fat free!
Now, I wouldn't go as far as saying these would replace a flour, chocolate and butter-filled cookie, but they are a more than adequate substitute. They also keep fairly well - stored in an airtight container for up to a week. You can also add chopped nuts or chocolate chips to these to spice them up a little.
One thing to keep in mind here, is that these are not like chocolate meringues. Meaning, you do not want to beat the egg whites. You just want to mix them in until the dough comes together, and then plop it on the baking sheet.

Tip of the Day: Even if you don't love coffee (like me), adding a touch of it to chocolate desserts helps to bring out the chocolate flavor, without tasting overwhelmingly like coffee.

Recipe: (adapted from King Arthur Flour)
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee
1 cup cocoa powder
3 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, salt, coffee and cocoa until combined. 
Add in the egg whites and vanilla and mix until just combined - don't overbeat. 
Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons on to a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. 
Bake on 350 F for 9 to 13 minutes until the tops are shiny and crackly. If the centers appear darker than the rest of the cookie, return them for a couple more minutes.


  1. These look good. I think I will be giving them a try soon.

  2. These sound too good to be true! They're going on my "to bake" list.

  3. how many cookies does this recipe yield? also do you know the calorie and fat count?

  4. Hi -

    I got about 24 cookies out of this, but results will vary since "rounded teaspoonful" is not an exact amount.
    You can use a nutrition calculator like this one:


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  6. Hi Amy, My confectioners sugar has tapioca starch in it, so the dough is very powdery. What modifications can i make to the recipe?
    thanks, jenny

  7. Hi Jenny -

    Since egg whites also vary in size, the amount of liquid will vary as well which could be a problem. Try adding a little more egg white - mix one up and add about half of it, and see if that helps.

  8. Hi, is there a substitute to the vanilla? I can't find any in Israel with a hechsher we use.

    1. You can just leave it out, it won't have a huge impact. Thanks!

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