Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Serves: Makes 18 3 1/4-inch cookies
Baking Temp (degrees F): 350 intially; lower to 325
Views: 9018
Comments: 4

Recipe by Sarah Phillips; Food styling and photo by Kelly Hong © 12-2-2014 Sarah Phillips CraftyBaking.com

Variations: Flourless Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies; Walnut Passover Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies; Flourless Chocolate Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Flourless Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies Variation
I took a baking demo class from famed Chef Francois Payard last year and he made these cookies with walnuts. I posted the photo of them on my @food Instagram account awhile back, and they generated a lot of likes and comments, so I decided to post his recipe, but had to adapt it for you to enjoy; his recipe as printed and on the internet did not turn out the same way he demonstrated in class and sold in his store. So, I had to redo the recipe's proportions to give you the authentic cookie, and I added in a few recipe variaitons of my own! These are by far the best flourless chocolate cookies I have ever tasted. The are chocolaty, rich, crispy on the outside and fudgy and really chewy on the inside. I thought that I was going to eat just half of one, but instead, I ate the whole cookie! These are perfect for Passover and are especially great as gluten-free treats! They are easy to make and make a perfect holiday gift!
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INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder; can substitute with Natural cocoa-powder, but the flavor and color will not be as intense
3 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt

3 large egg whites
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups roughly chopped walnuts, lightly toasted; how to chop, measure, and then lightly toast

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Position an oven rack each in the upper and bottom thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Sift together the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer.

3. Clamp the bowl onto a stand mixer and fit it with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute to combine ingredients.

4. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the egg whites and vanilla.

5. Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 10 minutes, until the mixture has thickened. It should be rather thick and fudgy looking.
Add the walnuts and fold in by hand with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

6. With a 2-ounce cookie or ice cream scoop or a generous tablespoon, scoop the 6 cookies worth of batter onto each of the prepared baking sheets, about 3-inches apart.
The batter will spread and make cookies that are 4-inches in diameter.

7. Place in the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly cracked and appear dull on the surface of the cookies.
Only if baking unevenly, switch and rotate the pans halfway through baking.

8. Slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a wire cooling rack, and let cool completely before removing.

STORAGE
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 to 3 days. To extend the shelf life, store in the refrigerator for one week. Cookies freeze nicely for a month or more.

VARIATIONS
Flourless Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 cup chopped Reese's Brand Peanut Butter Cups; from about 7 snack size, .75 ounces each, chop and then measure
Omit the walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In Step #5: Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 10 minutes, until the mixture has thickened. It should be rather thick and fudgy looking.

2. Add the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and fold in by hand with a large spoon or rubber spatula.

3. Bake as directed.

Passover Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies
Passover Powdered Sugar - makes about 3 cups
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons potato starch
3 cups granulated sugar

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a food processor, combine potato starch and sugar. Process until mixture is very powdery and resembles confectioners' sugar, about 2 minutes. Allow to settle for about 1 minute before removing processor cover.

2. Replace the powdered sugar in the recipe: Measure 3 cups Passover Powdered Sugar for use in the recipe; spoon into dry measure cup and level to rim. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Flourless Chocolate Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Fold in chocolate chips with the walnuts in Step #5.