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.
