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Friday, November 27, 2009

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

In my never ending quest for clean eating approved desserts, I saw this recipe on The Way the Cookie Crumbles and could not wait to try it.  All I needed to do to make it clean was switch out the sugar source!  The original recipe calls for powdered sugar, so I got to thinking... if you can make powdered sugar at home by grinding up regular sugar, then I should be able to make powdered sucanat by grinding up regular sucanat.  It worked like a charm!  Per Bridget's suggestions, I cut down the amount of sugar, and found that they were still sweet enough to have reduce it even more, next time.
IMG_0018c
I think I slightly under-baked mine, but I loved how they turned out because they were still soft.  Bridget mentioned they were much like meringue cookies, and that was true of my version - but only around the edges.  The centers were soft and gooey and deliciously chocolatey!  Mine spread quite a bit more than Bridget's, so perhaps next time I will chill the cookies in the fridge while the oven finishes warming up. 

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies
Source: Adapted from The Way the Cookie Crumbles, originally from Bon Appetit June 2008
Servings: Makes about 13
BA note: Made without butter or flour, these dense, chewy cookies will satisfy even the most intense chocolate craving.
  • 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (about 6 ounces), divided
  • 2 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1 cup sucanat, ground into a powder, divided
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line one large baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 90 seconds. Cool slightly.
2. Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup powdered sucanat. 3. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme. Whisk 1/2 cup powdered sucanat, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and ½ cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).
4. Scoop 1 rounded tablespoon dough onto prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

Nutritional Information, per cookie:
Calories: 137
Total Fat: 5.4 g
Sat. Fat: 3.1 g
Sodium: 96.2 mg
Carbohydrate: 23.3 g
Fiber: 1.2 g
Sugar: 20.1 g
Protein: 1.8 g

3 comments:

Bridget said...

They look great! I was looking at that recipe last week and thinking that reducing the sugar could be problematic. It's providing the bulk that flour usually does, so if you use less, the cookies might spread too much. But yours actually look really good. Chilling the dough could help too, and I wonder if baking them at a higher temperature for less time would keep them from spreading?

Stefany said...

haha, all things I did not consider, Bridget! Seeing as how I plan on making these again VERY soon, I will try some of those suggestions. Though, I just had one for breakfast and really don't mind how thin they are. I was just expecting them to look more like yours. :-)

Bridget said...

I actually really like the way yours look. They look more like regular cookies and less meringue-ey.