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I was seeing friends for the first time in a while and I wanted to bring some treats with me for the occasion. I know this particular group of humans love chocolate, but they are also a little health conscious in terms of what ingredients are going into their baked goods. One of them has also been trying to stay away from dairy, so I wanted a recipe that easy to modify if I chose to use vegan butter instead of regular.
I was torn between a few recipes, so I texted them to see what they preferred. They voted on this one when I asked them, and I agreed, these looked yummy! And honestly, who doesn't love a decadent, fudgy brownie-like cookie?
This recipe is from a website called Yammie's Noshery. I was a little hesitant because it almost seemed too easy (and too good to be true!) but they actually turned out pretty great! I also liked how they were flourless and I knew I could easily substitute vegan butter for my friend's dairy intolerance and it wouldn't have a major impact on the cookie (although mine did come out a little flat because of the dairy-free butter, so yours may turn out much fluffier with regular butter which is even better!). These are also gluten free too since there is no flour!
You don't need many ingredients for these either, and you probably have most of them in your pantry already. They are really quick to make too, so these are perfect if you're in a pinch and need to whip up something fast! For newer bakers or those who don't bake often, the original recipe wasn't super descriptive and left room for errors, but I've altered it here to make it a bit clearer and more detailed.
This recipe yields about one dozen cookies.
What You Need:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 T butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cocoa powder (I used this dark cocoa, but regular cocoa would work too)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips, but you can use any kind you like)
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts (optional)
Here's What To Do:
Combine the sugars and butter in a microwavable bowl (or in a pot on the stove). Heat until bubbly, stirring occasionally -- this takes about 2-3 minutes, but take it out every 30 seconds or so to stir and ensure it doesn't burn.
Remove from the microwave (or heat) and beat well with a hand or stand mixer.
Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix for two minutes (this, along with melting the butter and sugar, helps create a crackly crust on top of the cookies).
Stir together the cocoa and salt and add them to the batter. Beat for another 30 seconds.
Fold in the chips and nuts (if adding). The batter will be thin. Allow the batter to rest while you preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. The batter should thicken as it rests.
When the batter is scoopable (but still very sticky), scoop by about 3 tablespoons full onto pan using an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop.
Bake cookies for about 11-14 minutes or until the edges seem browned (the center may still look glossy but be careful not to overbake).
When they come out of the oven, you can press a few more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies if desired.
Enjoy!