And so it begins. The holiday that's full of eggs, matzo, and more eggs. Yes, folks, it's Passover time again. The first seder was last night and full of fantastic traditional foods - the brisket, the fried matzo, the charoset, etc. I had hoped to try out a new recipe involving berries, chocolate sponge cake and marscapone (yum!) but a few hours before I re-read the recipe and noticed it said make 24 hrs in advance (oops!) So there was matzo crack :D and a passover apricot bar. Today was a chance to try something new...flourless fudgy chocolate walnut cookies, totally Passover friendly. And they are suuuuper delish. This is going to be a year round favorite, I can tell.
This recipe from food&wine.com is perfection as is. I usually feel a need to tamper with a recipe but I really enjoyed this from the get go. I might be uber decadent and throw in some chocolate bits next time. This is a perfect chewy browniesque dessert bite, enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups walnut halves (9 ounces)
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Position 2 racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Spread the walnut halves on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant. Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and finely chop them.
- In a large bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar with the cocoa powder and salt. Whisk in the chopped walnuts. Add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (be careful not to overbeat or it will stiffen). Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds.
- Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are glossy and lightly cracked and feel firm to the touch; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through.
- Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks to cool completely before serving.
