Flourless Chocolate Cookies (Bake Sale for Noah)

Ever heard of an online bake sale? It's pretty self explanatory--there are baked goods advertised online, you bid on the items you want, and the highest bidder wins. Kind of fun, especially if you win. However, today winning and participating are equally fun and rewarding, and here is why: this particular online bake sale is raising money for Noah, a three year old who was recently diagnosed with severe autism. (Click here to read more about Noah and his condition.)

Interested in participating? Of course you are! Go on over to Steph's Bite by Bite and bid on your favorite items (or all of them!). I have my eye on the Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars--holy yum.

In addition to bidding, I am contributing three recipes, one of them being these Flourless Chocolate Cookies. These cookies were posted on Reading and Recipes and have been one of the most popular posts to date. And what's not to like? They are easy to make, require only a small list of ingredients, and are rich, gooey, and chocolately all while being less than 100 calories per cookie. I'm making two batches, one for the winner and one for me (a perk to being a contributor and baker).

Want to be the winner of these delights? Or how about my Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies or Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies? Is your mouth watering yet? Mmmk good. Go get your bidding on and help little Noah! And if you absolutely cannot wait to received these cookies in the mail, go ahead and make a batch yourself. Promise you'll be craving them again in a week when you receive my package.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies (adapted from Bon Appetit)
(Makes 24 cookies)

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (about 1 1/2 cups of chips)
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, divided plus more for coating cookies
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant espresso, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat mat, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Melt on 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir. Microwave the chocolate for another 30 seconds. Continue this until most of the chocolate is melted, careful not to burn the chocolate. Stir the chocolate together to melt the remaining morsels, then set aside.

Place the egg whites in a clean bowl. Whisk until soft peaks form. (This will take about 2 minutes vigorously whisking by hand. You can use an electric mixer to speed up the process.) Gradually add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, and continue whisking until the sugar is fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, sift the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt, and instant espresso (if using) together. Add these dry ingredients to the egg white mixture and stir all of the ingredients together. The cookie dough will become very thick. Add the melted chocolate to egg white mixture and blend all of the ingredients together.

Pour some powdered sugar into a shallow bowl. With your hands, roll 1 tablespoon of cookie dough into a ball. Roll the ball of cookie dough in the powdered sugar, making sure to get a good coating of sugar all over the dough, and place on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat this process until all of the cookie dough is gone. Bake the cookies for about 10-11 minutes, or until they flatten slightly and the tops begin to cracked. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Print this recipe!

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 24

Amount Per Serving:

Calories: 97.7
Total Fat: 3.5 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 32.8 mg
Total Carbs: 18.1 g
Fiber: 1.2 g
Sugars: 12.6 g
Protein: 1.3 g