Flourless double-chocolate crackles

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This article was published 17/12/2014 (4311 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

These flourless chocolate cookies are a little chewy, a little gooey and a whole lot decadent.

Flourless Double-Chocolate Crackles

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) dark chocolate chips (60 per cent cacao), divided

3 egg whites, at room temperature

625 ml (2 1/2 cups) icing sugar, divided

125 ml (1/2 cup) cocoa

15 ml (1 tbsp) cornstarch

1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt

Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Melt 250 ml (1 cup) chocolate chips in microwave on low heat, checking and stirring often. Set aside to cool. In a large, very clean bowl, preferably metal or glass, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gradually beat in 250 ml (1 cup) icing sugar. Continue beating until mixture forms ribbons. In small bowl, whisk together another 250 ml (1 cup) icing sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt, and fold into the whites, gently but thoroughly. Stir in the melted chocolate by hand until well combined. Add the remaining chocolate chips. Allow dough to sit for about 5 minutes. (Dough will become stiff and easier to work after a brief rest, but try to complete cookies fairly quickly after that before it hardens up too much.)

Place the remaining 125 ml (1/2 cup) icing sugar on plate. Roll rounded tablespoons of dough in icing sugar to coat. Place on prepared cookie sheets, spacing about 5 cm (2 inches) apart, as cookies will spread and flatten slightly. Bake cookies about 10 minutes, until slightly puffed with cracked tops but still some softness inside. Don’t overbake. Cool cookies on sheets on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer cookies to rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container, in single layers separated by wax paper, at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes about 24 cookies.

Tester’s notes: These cookies are dark, fudgy and rich — and they also happen to be gluten-free. My experience of gluten-free baking is fairly limited, but generally I’ve had better results by avoiding gluten-free flour substitutes and working with recipes that don’t have flour in the first place. (If gluten is a concern, make sure to check that icing sugar and chocolate chips are gluten-free.)

I know some readers think I’m kooky about parchment paper, but it really does help with these cookies, which have a tendency to stick.

Alison Gillmor
Writer

Studying at the University of Winnipeg and later Toronto’s York University, Alison Gillmor planned to become an art historian. She ended up catching the journalism bug when she started as visual arts reviewer at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1992.

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