Flourless Fudge Cookies

Five years ago I had surgery on my back following months years of limping around, spending many hours in doctor's offices, and even more hours in physical therapy.  Dr. Kang fixed me all up and I was good as new!  Well, here we are again.  I pulled a muscle in my lower back last week and was nursing it back to health while visiting my Jake's parents and sisters over the weekend.  On Saturday morning Lily was toddling around the living room while I was in the kitchen (scrounging for food, I'm sure), and then she walked up to the door gate dividing us.  She had those sweet puppy dog eyes, a broad smile with two little teeth showing, and outstretched arms begging me to pick her up.  So I did.  Oops.  Big mistake.  My back was pissed!  One week and dozens of prescription pain killers later, Jake is still the only one in our house who is good for anything productive.  Someday I'll learn to take better care of myself.

For now, I'll comfort my sorrows with fudgy, moist, delicious cookies.  (These are the ones I sent to Lily's daycare teachers with the granola and they raved about them.)  I don't usually like "dry" chocolate like cookies or cakes, but these treats are so decadent that they will win over even the harshest critics.  And, they are gluten free, which is perfect for those with a limited diet.  Hooray!

Though the recipe originates from King Arthur Flour (flourless cookie recipe from a flour company??), I found it at Cooking Whims as a part of a secret recipe club that I take part in.  It's great to find so many different recipe ideas that I otherwise might not have come across!

Flourless Fudge Cookies

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process preferred 3 large egg whites 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Or line with parchment, and grease the parchment.

Stir together all of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) until smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and stir again till smooth.  Add in the chocolate chips and stir gently until just combined.

Drop the soft, batter-like dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1 1/2" circles; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes; they should spread, become somewhat shiny, and develop faintly crackly tops.  Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan.

Source: Cooking Whims, originally from King Arthur Flour