Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies

My sister in law was having a bake sale to raise money for her youth group.  The group goes on a "serve", where they go to a city in Canada or the U.S for one week,  selflessly providing help and support to those in need.   When she asked me to bake some treats for the sale I couldn't say no, knowing all the hard work these kids put forth.

This is recipe 1 of 2 for the bake sale.  I decided to make some gluten free chocolate cookies.  Thinking most people would make cookies with flour, I thought this would be appealing for those who might be looking for no gluten.   This would also give me a chance to use my new Mini Fudge Melts I found at the Superstore the other day.   This recipe is quick and easy,  allowing me enough time to make two recipes.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies

Aren't these cute little mini cups?

INGREDIENTS:

(adapted from Orangette)
makes 15 cookies

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups fudge chips/melts
• 1/2 cup skor bits 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, use parchment not a silpat so the cookies have traction.

2)  In your mixer bowl or a medium bowl,  combine the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt and whisk together to ensure there are no lumps. 

3) Add the skor bits to your mini food processor and process to fine crumb.  

4) Combine the vanilla and egg whites in a cup or bowl and slowly add to the cocoa mixture, beating at low speed. Once all the liquid is added increase to medium speed and beat for about 2 minutes. The batter will appear glossy and smooth. It will be fairly thin.

5) Fold in chips and skor grounds with a spatula. Scoop about two tablespoons of batter on to the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 3 inches between each. The batter will spread considerably. Place the pan in the oven and reduce the heat to 325 degrees, and bake the cookies until small, thin cracks appear on their surface, about 17 minutes. 

6) Place pan on cooling rack and allow cookies to cool completely on pan before removing from parchment. When they are cool, peel them gently from the parchment paper. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, make sure you increase the oven temperature to 350F before each round. 

These cookies are like thin fudgy brownies.   Soft, chewy and rich.   I put the skor bits into mini processor because somehow my bag of bits turned into a bag of one giant bit. This turned out to be a great idea, adding a delicate caramel to the cookies. 

MEG's RATING: D-EEE-LICIOUS