Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

I have seen recipes for flourless chocolate brownie cookies several times over the last couple of weeks. I finally gave in and tried it and they were very good and easy to make. The first thing I noticed when looking at the ingredient list was that the ingredients looked like a meringue cookie recipe. The directions were different, cooking the cookies at a higher temperature for a short time resulting in a chewy cookie. I just had to experiment to see if I was right, so I cooked one batch for 21 minutes  (instead of 14) and without mentioning my thoughts gave my older kids a cookie. They both said, “these are the best chocolate meringues ever”. That’s what I thought too.

I decided that if the desired effect is a chewy cookie, I don’t have to limit myself to egg whites. Using egg whites leaves me with the responsibility of finding a way to use the excess egg yolks…because you know I can’t toss them that would be food waste!

I tinkered with the amounts a bit, so that I could use whole eggs. I used walnuts because I have a hard time finding soy-free chocolate chips, but if you are not avoiding soy, you could replace the walnuts with mini chocolate chips for a delicious double chocolate cookie. These cookies are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 13 – 15 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla ( I use gf vanilla)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets or line with parchement paper.

Add powdered sugar,cocoa, and salt to a bowl, stir to combine.

Stir in eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Mix in walnuts.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased or lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 13 – 15 minutes, or until crackled and crunchy on the outside. Cool cookies on a cookie rack for 10 – 15 minutes.

For more delicious recipes, visit Hearth and Soul Hop, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, and Gluten-Free Wednesday.