Flour-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

In other news: My cookie scoops have arrived!!

(Alright... Ice cream scoops. But I'll be using them pretty much exclusively for cookies and cakes.)

 Now I need a reason to use them...

These flour-free cookies were made using an American recipe (hence all the cup measurements).
If you're interested in following the authentic American version, here are the original quantities:

3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips


But... I didn't have that much chocolate in the cupboard, so I've halved the recipe (roughly) in cups and measured it in ounces.

See... I could use cups!

Annnd here's what I used

8oz Icing Sugar
1.5oz cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4oz chocolate chips

Makes 12 HUGE cookies.
Stores in an airtight container for 3 days.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180oC. Line two baking trays with non-stick sheets. (The recipe advises that if you use grease proof paper, you should "give it a light swoosh of nonstick spray.")

2. Sift together the icing sugar and cocoa into a large bowl, and mix thoroughly (again, the recipe says whisk... but for the love of all things sacred... don't use electric beaters!! You'll suffocate on sugar powder!)

Blow that for a game of soldiers. Just use a wooden spoon... it's so much easier...

3.  Mix in the egg whites and vanilla and beat together (the recipe author has given a range of ingredients as eggs may vary in size, if you're using her quantities, she says start with "two and beat just until the batter is moistened. You're looking for a brownie-like, thick and fudgy batter consistency. If it seems too thick, add another egg white-- then a 4th one if it still seems too thick." So, I started with one, which wasn't enough, and added another, which was too much, so added more icing sugar and cocoa - and adjusted the measurements accordingly.)

4. Gently stir in chocolate chips.

5. Using the shiny new ice-cream/cookie scoop (the small one, 3cm diameter) evenly space 6 cookie dollops onto each tray. (these bad boys spread like you wouldn't believe)

Just remember these came out of a 3cm scoop...

6. Bake for 15 minutes until the tops are shiny and lightly cracked.

These are now about 10cm in diameter!!

mmm shiny and crackley!

7. When cooked slide the cookies (still on the non stick sheets) onto wire racks to cool completely. Or eat them warm. You know. Whatever...

I didn't know what to expect really, but they do look just like the ones in the original recipe, so that's a good start! They're crunchy on the top, and the edges, but really gooey and chewy in the middle.
Quite an unusual cookie! (But really quite tasty!)