Flourless Fudge Cookies
Ultra-chewy, rich chocolate cookies with no added fat? And no gluten? Impossible! But it's true: these flourless chocolate cookies get their texture from egg whites, and their flavor from cocoa powder (which represents the only fat in the recipe). Plus they're easy to make: Just stir together a few simple ingredients, scoop onto a pan, and bake for 7 to 10 minutes. You won't believe the delicious result. Speaking of delicious, though — adding chocolate chips and/or chopped nuts to this basic recipe takes these cookies to a whole new level. If you can afford the calories, we highly recommend this addition.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional but good
- 1 cup cocoa powder, natural or Dutch-process cocoa
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and/or chopped dried fruit, optional
Instructions
- Lightly grease two baking sheets. Or line with parchment, and grease the parchment. Yes, grease the parchment; these cookies are sticky, and need to be baked on a greased surface.
- Whisk together the egg whites and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, except for the chips/nuts/fruit. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and stir again until smooth. The sticky batter will be the consistency of a thick syrup. Add the chips and/or nuts, if you're using them.
- Drop the syrupy batter onto the prepared baking sheets in 3" circles (for large cookies), or 1 3/4" to 2" circles (for smaller cookies); a tablespoon cookie scoop or teaspoon cookie scoop, respectively, work well here. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Bake the cookies for 7 minutes (for smaller cookies), 8 to 9 minutes for the larger cookies; they should spread slightly, become somewhat shiny, and develop faintly crackly tops. Note: large cookies with added chips/nuts will need to bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan. When they're nearly cool, carefully loosen them from the pan with a spatula.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1 cookie, 28g
- Servings Per Batch 16
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 88
- Calories from Fat 5
- Total Fat 1g
- Saturated Fat 0g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 0mg
- Sodium 47mg
- Total Carbohydrate 19g
- Dietary Fiber 1g
- Sugars 16g
- Protein 2g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- Yes, this batter is supposed to be syrupy and sticky. If it's not, add more egg white until it drips from a spatula in a thick ribbon.
- This recipe can be tricky to nail, especially the first time out. Please read our blog post, Putting a Tricky Recipe to the Test, for some handy tips.
- The yield on this recipe can vary quite a bit, depending on size and add-ins. Without add-ins, you'll get 16 large (3 1/4") cookies or 32 smaller (2 1/2") cookies. With added chips/nuts — 2 dozen large cookies, or 4 dozen smaller cookies.
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Reviews
I chose this recipe to provide a gluten-free cookie dessert for a client at the lodge where I bake. I probably didn't pay close attention to all the tips and hints the first time I made them; they came out quite flat, but I then decided to feature them as a dessert base; I decoratively piped very lightly sweetened whipped cream on each one and drizzled them with salted caramel. The second time I tried a batch, they were the proper cookie shape, and I must have removed them at the exact right time, because the texture when cooled was out of this world fantastic. Thank you for yet another permanent recipe in my repetoire!
Made these today, waiting to bake them actually. I think because of the weather an extra egg whitenwas needed. I'm in West Texas and we are having a slight cold front. I have found that weighing the ingredients is best for baking cookies like these. The batter was delicious even tho I didn't add the espresso powder, they were very chocolately. I have high hopes. This is such a simple recipe and I didn't need to buy anything extra.
This recipe had a delicious chocolate flavor, particularly given that they are low fat. The texture was ok but more chalky than chewy. Any tips on increasing the chewiness of the cookies are much appreciated - perhaps beating the batter for a few minutes to increase the meringue-like consistency?Feel free to beat the batter longer next time, Lauren, to see if that gives you the texture you're looking for. It might also be worth switching up the kind of cocoa powder you're using, as cocoas can vary quite a bit from brand to brand. Some have a richer mouthfeel and a full chocolate flavor profile, while others can be chalky or dry. You might want to try using a Dutch-processed cocoa powder if you aren't already doing so. Good luck and happy baking! Kye@KAF
This is an excellent recipe for a supremely fudgy cookie. I have made these dozens of times and I freely admit they get better and better with practice. Tips for those who have had problems: (1) Read the coordinating blog post for this recipe. (2) Follow the directions to the letter and weigh everything, and you will get the best results. (3) I have found these cookies work and taste best with Triple Cocoa Blend from KAF. They are an outright disaster with straight Valrhona cocoa powder (or at least they were for me!).
These cookies were way better than I expected. I have never baked a flourless dessert, but these cookies were out of this world. I made my cookies relatively small, about two tablespoons worth of batter in each cookie, and baked them for ten minutes because I wanted them to be a bit crispy. I made about 20 cookies, and I live with two other roommates, and these delectable snacks were gone within three days. Unbelievably ooey gooey, rich chocolatey goodness. Would definitely make again.
It says that the texture comes from the egg whites, but the recipe doesn't say how much to whip the whites - just until mixed, soft peaks, stiff peaks? Not having that information might be why some people didn't get good results.Hi Robin. The egg whites only need to be mixed together with the vanilla until combined. If you'd like to see a visual of this mixing process, feel free to check out the coordinating blog post "Flourless Fudge Cookies: a special treat for the gluten-free crowd" that's linked at the top of the recipe. Annabelle@KAF
This recipe is amazing! it is amazingly chocolaty and has great texture. When they come out of the oven they are crunch but fudge like at the same time! I would recommend these to any chocolate lover out there! Delish!
Very good and intensely chocolate-y! I used...about 1-1/2 or 1-3/4 cups of chocolate chips; more than enough. But it's a very sticky dough to work with. Might have to try making cookie rounds, freeze them, then bake at leisure. Thanks for all the good recipes KAF. :)
The first time I made these, I was not to pleased with the texture but I tried again. The only difference was my eggs were very fresh. Bingo! That made the difference. They had a very nice, slighty chewy texture and the fkavor was wonderful. I put salted caramel chips and walnuts in them and wowzer!
I really thought this would be a slam dunk. It looked easy and the reviews are good. Perhaps I did something wrong but I really don't think so. My batter/dough was incredibly stiff - even after prolonged mixing. Not at all loose as described. I ended up adding 2 more egg whites and a table spoon of water and it was still a sticky mess, but at least I could sort of pour it out. When baked the texture was good - crispy edge with overall chewiness. But the flavor was just good and certainly not worth my frustration.We're sorry to hear that this recipe gave you frustration, Martha. If you ever decide to make this recipe again, we encourage you to check out the blog post associated with this recipe for some helpful tips and tricks on making them frustration-free. Kindly, Annabelle@KAF
