- 2
Ingredients
- 6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
Preparation
Step 1
Position oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment and set aside.
Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. With the beaters running, gradually add the vanilla and sugar until the egg whites hold stiff peaks but don’t look dry. Pour the nuts and melted chocolate over the whipped whites. Gently fold the mixture with a large rubber spatula, trying not to deflate the egg whites, until the color is just uniform. Immediately drop level measuring teaspoons of the batter onto the baking sheets, leaving at least 1 inch between the cookies.
Bake until the cookies are shiny and cracked, 10 to 12 min.; they should be firm on the outside but still gooey inside when you press them. Slide the parchment liners onto racks or use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks and let cool completely. The cookies are best eaten on the day they're baked but will last two to three days if stored in an airtight container.
I love the taste but when I add a little of the egg white to the melted chocolate, it always seizes. Why does it do that? I always thought that you are supposed to add a little egg white to the chocolate and mix it first to loosen the chocolate. I don't understand why the chocolate keeps seizing on me. Any advice?
These are delicious! Hard to wrong with an Alice Medrich recipe, though, isn't it? Yes you can make these without the cream of tartar. Make sure that the egg whites are room temperature (separate them while they are cold) and put in 1/8 tsp vinegar. The acidity in cream of tartar is what helps egg whites hold more air - use a different acid and you will be fine. Make sure the egg whites are not cold!
Chocolate-y, light, delicious and easy to make. They disappeared quickly. As others have said, using the best quality chocolate is a must. Yummmmmmmmmm
I made them for a friend who is gluten and nut free. I substituted finely chopped ginger for the nuts. Very good. Easy to make and well received.
I've been making these ever since the recipe came out in one of the holiday dessert specials FC used to do (miss those!). I love to make them when people are gluten intolerant, and they have been my Darwin day celebration cookie for years too. Highly recommend them, but use good quality chocolate, I use Scharfenberger, or its a waste.
Yummy and a great way to use excess egg whites! I've never been able to make them as small as they call for, I get about 24 cookies, but they're rich and chewy on the inside.
Crunchy on the outside and airy on the inside, with a rich chocolate taste. Next time I make them, I going to make them bigger than levelled teaspoons of batter. They came out bite size instead of cookie size.
Very easy to make and uses ingrediants I have on hand all the time. Good chocolate is a must here. I tried using a store brand semi-sweet baking bar and the results were 'ok', the better the quality of chocolate the richer they taste.
A wonderful gluten-free cookie I can make for parties so my family has something sweet to eat and share. They keep well for a few days- if they aren't all eaten before then.