Bittersweet Chocolate & Toasted Walnut Cookies Perfecta Mundo!
Adapted from the recipe titled, Flourless Chocolate Cookies, in Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard. I highly recommend this beautiful cookbook.
This is the one cookie recipe you need for occasions when you want to really WOW your friends, family, or coworkers. It is sensational with a capitol S. However, sensational comes at a price and that price is your willingness to locate and then pay a shocking sum for premium cocoa powder. Yes, it makes a difference. A BIG difference. This is not the time to grab the Hershey’s.
For those of you who are prone to guilt, note that there is no flour or butter in these cookies. It’s interesting how much more vibrant the chocolate flavor is without these ingredients.
INGREDIENT NOTE With so few ingredients, this recipe is the perfect vehicle to test the deliciousness of premium cocoa powders. There was a marked flavor difference, for instance between my tests using Green & Black’s cocoa powder and E. Guittard cocoa powder. They were both wonderful in these cookies, as evidenced by how quickly the cookies disappeared. But, for me, there is something extra appealing about E. Guittard cocoa. For the moment, it’s my favorite.
EQUIPMENT NOTE I had difficulty getting a consistent shape and depth with these cookies until I remembered a pan I had seen at Sur La Table called a muffin top pan. With six, 4-inch shallow indents, this pan turned out to be just the ticket. The batter stays within the confines of the indents and bakes into perfectly round, ½–inch thick cookies. If you want irregular, thinner cookies, simply use a regular baking sheet.
TECHNIQUE NOTE On another front, I noticed quite a bit of wailing on the web from folks who experienced difficulty with these cookies irretrievably sticking to the pan or the parchment paper. For me, the following methods all resulted in cookies that could be easily removed from the pan or paper: cooking spray-coated silicon parchment paper liner, cooking spray-coated nonstick foil liner, cooking spray-coated nonstick muffin top pan, and shortening-coated nonstick muffin top pan. In all cases, it is best to remove the cookies from the pan or the paper or foil while the cookies are still slightly warm (not too warm or they will break). Use a flexible spatula if necessary to loosen any stubborn spots.
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (13 ounces)
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened, alkalized (Dutch-process) cocoa powder (2? ounces) (I tested with Green & Black’s organic alkalized cocoa powder and E. Guittard alkalized cocoa powder)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups walnuts, toasted for 10 minutes in a 350º oven, cooled, and then coarsely chopped (untoasted walnuts also work just fine)
4 large egg whites, cool room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix to combine.
2. With the mixer running, slowly add the egg whites and then the vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, until the mixture is somewhat thickened. (If you mix too briefly, the batter will be thin and runny. However, with a full 5 minutes of beating, the batter thickens to the degree that it holds its shape for several minutes when scooped onto the baking sheet.)
3. Remove the work bowl, and scrape the batter from the paddle attachment. Stir in the chopped walnuts, and mix thoroughly. If you want to wait until later to bake the cookies, put the batter into a smaller bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
4. Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop, scoop level amounts of batter into each of the six indents of a cooking spray-coated nonstick Chicago Metallic Muffin Top sheet (to ensure the cookies don’t stick, you can cut rounds of nonstick foil with tabs to line the indents) or onto a cooking spray-coated, parchment paper-lined baking sheet, five cookies per sheet, about 3 inches apart.
5. Wet your fingers with cold water and press down lightly on the center of each cookie, just to flatten the dome a bit.
6. Put cookies into a 350º oven and immediately lower the temperature to 320º.
7. Bake for 16-18 minutes for cookies in a muffin top pan or 14-16 minutes for cookies on a sheet pan. Turn the pan halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. The cookies are done when small cracks appear on the surface.
8. Remove the muffin top or cookie sheet from the oven.
9. If using the muffin top pan, put it on a wire rack to cool. When still slightly warm, lift the cookies from the pan with a flexible spatula.
10. If using parchment paper, pull the parchment paper with the cookies onto a wire rack to cool. Immediately slide a thin spatula under each cookie to loosen it from the paper. When cool, remove the cookies from the parchment paper.
11. Store cookies, layered between rounds of wax paper, in an airtight metal cookie tin for up to 2 days.
Makes twelve to fourteen, 4-inch cookies.
There’s More
Check out these additional CHOCOLATE recipes, which are part of the first annual Love Rules! celebration atLunaCafe (All Chocolate All Month):
Bittersweet Chocolate & Toasted Walnut Cookies Perfecta Mundo!
Mexican Hearts of Fire Cookies
Bittersweet Chocolate & Montmorency Cherry Morning Love Muffins
Luscious White Chocolate & Raspberry Rose Petal Cheesecake
Coming Soon
Smokin’ Hot Chocolate Pudding
Burnt Sugar & Rosemary Chocolate Tart
Chocolate and Cabernet Red Velvet Pound Cake
