How To Make Flourless Chocolate Cookies

If your ideal cookie has thin, crispy edges that enclose a thick, fudgy middle with just a touch of chewiness in between, then you should definitely be making these flourless chocolate cookies. At first glance, they might look like any other chocolate cookie, but these cookies have a deep chocolate flavor and are studded with dark chocolate chips. The fact they there are flourless and require just one bowl for mixing is just gilding the lily.

There are many, many flourless chocolate cookie recipes in the world, but this is our essential one. It’s a fail-proof method (read: the cookies will bake up the same way every time) that results in damn delicious cookies. They are for the chocolate obsessed and anyone who wants their cookies to be crisp, chewy, and fudgy — all at once. You won’t ever need another chocolate cookie recipe.

• This recipe calls for both black cocoa and Dutch-process, as well as dark chocolate chips. You can also substitute Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa for the combination of Dutch and black cocoa.
• You’ll need to let the scooped cookie sit for 30 minutes before baking, so make sure that you have plenty of parchment paper on hand so you can portion out the dough all at once.

When it comes to deep dark chocolate, not all cocoa powders are created equal. At the risk of making an otherwise simple recipe a bit fussy, these cookies taste (and look) their best with a 50/50 mixture of black cocoa and Dutch-process cocoa powder. Black cocoa has an intensely chocolate flavor and deep dark color, giving the cookies their distinct appearance. Dutch process cocoa sings backup as a supporting chocolate flavor that also lends sweetness to the black cocoa, which can be bitter in high doses. You can also use a full cup of Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa in place of 1/2 cup each of black and Dutch cocoa in a pinch.

Read more: What’s the Difference Between Natural and Dutch Cocoa Powder?

1. Grease the parchment paper. Seems silly, since parchment is its own nonstick protection, but these cookies are prone to sticking. A coat of cooking spray is the best insurance against stuck or broken cookies.

2. Mix the dough until it’s shiny and sticky. You’ll beat together the dry and wet ingredients, and at a certain point the dough will be homogenous but still pretty stiff. Keep mixing until the dough is shiny and sticky for best results.

3. Rest the scooped dough for 30 minutes before baking. This is a step I accidentally discovered when I forgot to preheat the oven before baking a batch of these cookies. It resulted in more crackles and a crisp crust on the exterior of the cookies. Line two baking sheets with parchment and prepare a third sheet before you begin mixing. Then scoop out every cookie before even turning the oven on. This way you can bake the first two sheets at once and the third batch will be ready to go in just after the first two.

You’ll know the cookies are ready to come out of the oven when they puff, flatten, crack and have a pleasant shine to them. All of this happens in about eight minutes. Out of the oven, cool the cookies for one minute on the baking sheet before carefully sliding the parchment paper onto a cooling rack.

Cool the cookies for at least 10 minutes before enjoying. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature where they’ll taste their best eaten within three days. After they’ll still be delicious but become more brittle than tender crisp.