Lazy Man's Macrons: Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies


On a quest to find an easy, fast dessert to bring to a friend's house for dinner last week, the internet gods heard my plea and sent a newsletter from King Arthur Flour into my inbox.  Contained therein was the exact recipe I wanted: rich, chocolaty cookies with whopping total of six ingredients.  Consisting solely of egg whites, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, they were like macrons that decided to take a few weeks off from fancy-land to kick back in a hammock, drink painkillers, and not bother with makeup. They've got a crispy exterior that gives way to a melty-soft middle--similar to real macrons, but without the airiness, since the egg whites are not whipped first.

The original recipe is here; below I've listed my modifications.  I made them smaller than suggested, as they are pretty rich, and a few of them go along way to taming any chocolate/sweet tooth you may have.  

I think sandwiching two of them together with some ganache or jam or ice cream would be really delightful.

Lazy Man's Macarons (Peanut Butter Version)
(Modified from King Arthur Flour)

  • 2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup cocoa powder, (I used Hersey's because it's what I had on hand...Dutch process would be lovely, as KAF recommends)
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 c. chopped chocolate chips (optional)

  • 1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line them with parchment paper.
  • 2) Stir together all of the ingredients till smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and stir again till smooth. The batter will be pretty stiff, if it's too hard to handle, add a few more drops of vanilla extract. Or whiskey. Or Kahlua.  
  • 3) Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1" circles; a teaspoon works well here.
  • 4) Bake the cookies for 8 minutes; they should spread, become somewhat shiny, and develop faintly crackly tops.
  • 5) Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan.

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