Gluten-Free Salted Chocolate Fudge Cookies
Cookies! Yay, my favorite!
For me, chocolate cookies are the next best thing after chocolate chip cookies. Because a chocolate chip cookie is the best type of cookie this world has to offer. Yes, I consider that a fact.
But, if one day a stranger came up to me and offered me the choice between a chocolate chip cookie and a salted chocolate fudge cookie - well then, I have to admit, I'd have a hard time choosing between the two. A salted chocolate fudge cookie sounds almost equally as good as a chocolate chip cookie. Almost (but not quite).
Anyway, these here are gluten-free salted chocolate fudge cookies - wait, what? Come again? Did I just say gluten-free salted chocolate fudge cookies?! Why yes, yes I did. I said gluten-free salted chocolate fudge cookies! Crazy, these cookies are identical to the ones the hypothetical stranger offered me!
{I'm such a dork.}
Anywhoooo. Let's discuss these cookies. Taking a bite out of one of these is like taking a bite out of a bar of dark chocolate that's soft, melty, fudgy, gooey, sweet, and slightly salty.
No flour? No problem! You'll never miss them in these cookies. Almond meal replaces the flour, and though I've never tried this recipe with real flour, I'm almost 100% sure the cookies won't taste any better with real flour. In fact, the gluten in the flour might detract from the fudginess and gooeiness (both not words) of these cookies.
Back in my Wholesome Epic Gluten-Free Brownies post, I explained that since my brother decided to go cold-turkey on all gluten, I started experimenting with gluten-free recipes. Well, my brother is now off that ill-considered gluten-free diet, but I'm still baking these gluten-free cookies (and those brownies). These cookies are that good. Everyone eats them. Nobody would ever guess there's no flour in them. And I can only imagine that people who are actually gluten intolerant and are usually stuck with sorry excuses for baked goods would appreciate these cookies even more.
Lately, I've become (too) obsessed with putting salt on my cookies. With every cookie I've been eating these past few months, I've felt compelled to sprinkle some coarse or flaky salt on top before taking my first bite.
But these cookies call for salt. So now I get to eat salted cookies without a few pairs of raised eyebrows and judging eyes piercing my back when I turn around to sneak off and sprinkle (a few tablespoons of) salt on my cookies.
Some people will never understand the salted cookie phenomenon. And to those people, I say, "where do you come from (rhetorical, so no question mark follows), and I will never, ever understand you." But I've found that with these chocolate cookies, even those who are skeptical about the salt-on-cookies craze have to admit that here, the salt, quite simply, just works.
But of course, as always, as per usual, obviously, customize the recipe to suit your tastes. If you know you or your people won't appreciate the salt, just skip it. It breaks my heart to say that, but I say it just the same.
gluten-free salted chocolate fudge cookies
Adapted from ifoodblogger
Yield: About 20 cookies
16 oz. (1 lb.) good quality chocolate (I used 64%)
1/2 stick (2 oz.) butter
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups coconut sugar (or regular sugar)
3/4 cup almond meal
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Coarse salt, for sprinkling
Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave or over a double boiler. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Place the eggs in the bowl of a machine with a whisk attachment. Beat eggs on high for a few minutes, gradually adding in the sugar.
Once the chocolate mixture has cooled slightly, add into machine with the eggs. Mix till incorporated.
Add the almond meal, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt to the machine and and mix till just incorporated.
Refrigerate the mixture (it will be somewhat loose and runny) for 25-30 minutes, until slightly firmed.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out dough and drop onto sheets. Sprinkle each cookie with some coarse salt.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies puff up, the tops start to crack, and the bottoms are smooth.
Cool slightly, then transfer to wire crack. The cookies may deflate a bit.
On a completely unrelated note, hehe:
photo from dump a day dot com
