Makes about thirty 2-inch cookies.
Recipe by Alice Medrich for Scharffen Berger Chocolate
These flourless melt-in-your-mouth cookies are light and delicately crisp on the outside--but chocolaty rich and moist within. They are simple to make, but be sure to spoon the batter on to the baking sheets as soon as it is mixed. If the batter waits in the bowl the chocolate will start to harden and the cookies will be less pretty to look at.
Expand/Collapse Ingredient Details
- 1/4 cup egg whites (from about 2 large eggs), at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup pecan halves (lightly toasted* or raw), coarsely chopped
- 5-1/2 ounces of SCHARFFEN BERGER 62% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped.
*To toast pecan halves: spread pecans on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 325degrees F oven 7-9 minutes or until they are fragrant and taste toasty. Cool before using.
Preheat the oven to 350degrees F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper or grease them.
Melt the chocolate in a stainless steel bowl set directly into a wider skillet of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir to melt complete the melting. Set aside.
In a clean dry bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar and vanilla until soft peaks form when you lift the beaters. Add the sugar gradually, continuing to beat until the eggs whites are stiff but not dry. Pour the nuts and scrape all of the warm chocolate over the egg whites. Fold with a rubber spatula until the color of the batter is uniform. Do not let the batter wait.
Drop tablespoons of batter on the prepared baking sheets at least 1 inch apart. Bake 10-12 minutes, rotating the sheets from front to back and top to bottom about half way through the baking period. The surface of the cookies should be shiny and cracked, firm when you press them but still gooey inside. If using parchment paper, cool the cookies on the baking sheets placed on racks, or slide the parchment sheets onto racks, otherwise transfer the individual cookies to a rack with a metal pancake turner. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Cookies are best on the day they are baked but still delectable for another 2 to 3 days.