If you followed along with our 12 Days of Gluten Free Cookies series last year than you know exactly what is about to happen over the next 12 days, but just in case you missed it, we have spent the past few months developing and testing 12 insanely delicious Christmas cookies for you to bake and enjoy this holiday season. So, grab your apron, turn on the holiday tunes and get ready to bake your little heart out!
Flourless chocolate cookies are a year round favorite in our house! The flavor and texture of these cookies is reminiscent of the irresistible crispy edges of a brownie with a chewy center. They are easy to make, keep really well for a few days stored at room temperature and when topped with candy cane sprinkles these cookies are a real holiday showstopper!
Even Santa can't resist these sweet treats!
Flourless Chocolate Cookies with Candy Cane Sprinkles
Don't worry if you don't have super dark or black cocoa simply increase the amount of regular cocoa powder to ⅔ cup!
- Yield: 2- 3 dozen depending on size 1x
Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup super dark or black cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 egg whites, at room temperature from large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 2 gluten free candy canes, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment and set aside.
- Whisk together the sugar, cocoas, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer then beat in the egg whites and vanilla extract. You want the batter to be thick and similar in consistency to brownie batter. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Drop teaspoon size mounds on the baking sheets 2-inches apart from one another then bake for 12-14 minutes. The cookie should be glossy with cracks in the surface. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle crushed candy canes on top of the cookies while they are still hot. Then transfer the cookies on the parchment paper to wire racks to cool completely. Line the baking sheet with another piece of parchment, grease lightly and repeat the process for the remaining batter.
Notes
PLEASE NOTE:
This batter spreads like wild fire on the pan which is why we call for only a teaspoon sized dollop of batter at a time on the cookie sheet.
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
These remind me of a spruced up version of the forgotten cookies I like to make. They look pretty fabulous and I love how festive and seasonal they are!
Meg says
Thanks so much Brian!
Sarah says
I made a big batch of these after having a dozen whites left over from AB's aged eggnog recipe. They have a light yet chewy texture, but didn't really look like the picture ( they spread tons) and since I was making them for a cookie exchange, appearance mattered. I scooped the rest of it into brownie pans and they're in the oven now. My family is scarfing the (not) duds. Thanks for a yummy recipe. I don't recommend quadrupling it the first time you make it 😉
Meg says
These cookies do really spread which is why I only put teaspoon size dollops on the baking sheet. They definitely are not the beauty quees of teh cookie world, which is why I dress them up with peppermint sprinkles, but they are delicious. So glad your family enjoyed them!
Lindsay says
We made these today with a couple modifications. The batter tasted like powdered sugar even with the specified amount of all ingredients. So I added an extra 1/3 c cocoa powder. I also added an egg yolk to thicken the batter a little. Theybaked well with the changes, though didn't get as thin as your photo. But upon tasting one of the cookies I was a bit disPpinted that they still just tasted like powdered sugar with a light cocoa flavor- not like a brownie flavor. Just too sweet for me. If I were to make these again I'd lessen the sugar and increase the cocoa.
Meg says
I admit - we have a very strong sweet tooth around here, but they should taste chocolaty. Did you use all regular cocoa or a mixture of dark/black cocoa and regular?
Anne says
Not all candy canes are gluten free. Here is a link to an updated (2015) list of the safe brands. http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenfreeholidaymenus/tp/Gluten-Free-Candy-Canes.htm
Meg says
You are totally right Anne and thank you for pointing that out! I intended to specify gluten free candy canes and failed to type that in 🙂 Happy holidays!
Peggy says
Can you replace the egg whites? I am allergic to eggs, but would love to try these. What could you use in place on the egg whites?
Meg says
Peggy, I have never tried replacing the eggs in this recipe, but if I had to I would try Ener-G http://www.ener-g.com/featured/egg-replacer.html first. There are instructions for replacing egg whites and it says it is good for baking 🙂
Joy says
The directions say to fold in the egg whites but they are not listed in the list of ingredients. How many?
Meg says
Hi Joy, Those egg whites are hiding in the ingredients under the salt up there. 🙂 There are 3 egg whites at room temperature in the recipe 🙂 Enjoy!
Leah says
Was disappointed in the outcome of the recipe based on the instructions outlined. The directions clearly state to beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients (might want to consider adding an approximate time for this step)- though I wonder if Joy had a point that beating the whites then folding them into the dry ingredients might produce a better result? I will always try what's recommend for a recipe before I tweak however it's never fun to throw away product because the directions weren't clear enough. Thoughts?
Meg says
Hmmm, sorry you had an issue with the cookies Leah! I'm not really understanding what the issue exactly was with the cookies, but I can just tell you how I make them which is; I add the egg whites ( I use large eggs, and will update the recipe to reflect that) and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Then I mix with my stand mixer on medium low speed until the batter resembles a thick brownie consistency. I drop very small teaspoon sized mounds of batter onto the lightly greased, parchment lined cookie sheet due to the fact that the batter spreads so much. The cookies should be glossy with cracks all through it. Hope this helps!
Amy says
I only have hersy Cocoa powder... Could I use that in place of the "dark" powder?
Thanks!
Meg says
You don't have to have super dark or black cocoa simply increase the amount of regular cocoa powder to 2/3 cup 🙂 Enjoy!
Jaime says
If I use eggs, instead of egg whites, how many should I use?
Meg says
Honestly Jaime, I have never tried making flourless cookies with the yolks and am unsure if the cookies would even come out correct with the yolks kept in the mix. Sorry I couldn't be of more help! If you give it a try let me know how it works out please.
Darlene says
Hi...just ran across your website and these cookies look divine. 🙂 However, if you are not a fan of dark chocolate is it likely you won't be a fan of these? And I'm not familiar with the super dark and dark cocoa powders you reference. Where would I likely find them?
Meg says
Thank you so much, we are so happy to have you here! You could totally make this with regular cocoa instead of super dark. I purchased black cocoa online 🙂
Crystal says
Wowie wow-wow! Let the cookie lusting begin!!! These will be our favorite cookies this year I am positive. Thanks for your sharing and work....xoxo
Barbara says
Awesome site. Just was introduced to your website and love getting the emails. Just starting to make the recipes and can't wait to make these cookies. . Happy Holidays - and thank you very much!
Barb
Meg says
Welcome Barbara! Thank you so much for saying hello - we are so happy to have you here and hope you enjoy our recipes as much as we enjoy developing them. Happy holidays to you as well!