flourless chocolate cookies

About These Crispy Yet Chewy Flourless Chocolate Cookies

These flourless chocolate cookies are the perfect blend of crispy and chewy! They are also beautiful to look at, with a shiny chocolate color and signature craggy surface similar to meringue. The cookies are crispest on the day they’re made, but then soften to the perfect chewiness overnight. They are 100% gluten free and don’t require any specialty flours or ingredients to make them: just confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder!

For more delicious gluten free flourless desserts on Hummingbird High, check out my Recipe Collection! Popular recipes include this Gluten Free Pandan Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake, these Flourless Gluten Free Cheesecake Brownies, and Small Batch Baked Ube Mochi Donuts.

The cookies are based on a recipe by the famed pastry chef, Franรงois Payard. Payard was a pastry chef at some of New York’s most famous restaurants. He originally made these cookies with walnuts, but I swapped out them out with chocolate chips to make the cookies extra chocolaty!

flourless chocolate cookies

Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that I’ve convinced you to make these flourless chocolate cookies, let’s talk about some of the key ingredients in the recipe:

  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. You can use either natural unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe. Franรงois Payard’s original recipe uses Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which has has been treated with alkaline to give it a milder flavor and darker color. But I made two different batches of cookies using both types of cocoa powder and actually preferred the ones made with natural unsweetened cocoa powder!

  • Egg Whites. If you don’t want to use fresh eggs, you can use egg whites from a carton. The measure for egg whites from a carton is ยผ cup (2 ounces or 57 grams).

  • Kosher Salt. Kosher salt is the best salt for baking recipes. But you can replace the kosher salt in the recipe with table salt. Just use half the amount called for in the recipe!

  • Chocolate Chips. Check out my post on The Best Chocolate For Chocolate Chip Cookies to see my favorite chocolate chip brands!
flourless chocolate cookies

Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ

Help! I think I underbaked the cookies and they are too sticky. I’m having trouble unsticking them from the parchment.

Ah yes, I’ve been there too. Check out the baker’s notes in the yellow box below for more information on how to unstick them from the parchment. You’ll need a stiff metal spatula for the job!

Help! I think I overbaked the cookies and they are too crispy. What should I do?

Don’t panic! These cookies are very similar to meringueโ€”they’ll soften overnight, especially in humid temperatures. Check out the baker’s notes in the yellow box below for more information on how to save the cookies if you’ve overbaked them. Don’t worry, there’s no need to throw anything out and waste food!

Can you freeze the flourless chocolate cookie dough?

Sadly, no. Because these cookies are gluten free, their dough is actually more similar to a runny pancake or cake batter. Traditional cookie doughs are easy to scoop into a ball shape and freeze for baking later. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to do that with the flourless chocolate cookie doughโ€”it won’t hold its shape when scooped and instead will turn into a puddle.

If you insist on making the cookie dough ahead of time and baking for later, you can simply store it in the fridge (still in its bowl but covered with plastic wrap) for up to 3 days. When ready to bake, follow the recipe’s instructions for scooping and baking the dough accordingly. Just note that because the dough has been chilled, it will be a little bit tough to scoop.

Can you freeze the baked flourless chocolate cookies?

Yes! One reader swears by it and that, when frozen, they turn into the perfect treat on a hot summer’s day. But you can also thaw frozen ones overnight in the refrigerator, then at room temperature for a few more hours. They’ll lose their crispy edges after being frozen, but will still be chewy and delicious.

My Best Recipe Tips

About Ingredients In This Recipe

  • Although there are fancy tools that help you sift ingredients, I like to use a fine mesh sieve. Place the sieve over a medium bowl and measure out both the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder on top of the sieve. Use a stiff rubber spatula to stir the ingredients until they fall through the sieve and into the bowl.

  • When it comes to egg whites, note that it’s much easier to separate eggs when they’re cold. I like to separate the whites and the yolks right after removing the eggs from the fridge. I then place the egg whites in a small, thick ramekin and let the ramekin sit in a bowl of very warm water. This allows the separated egg whites to come to room temperature much more quickly. Just make sure that no water gets into the ramekin! You only need enough water for it to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekin.

  • Cornstarch is typically added to confectioners’ sugar to prevent it from clumping. Different brands of confectioners’ sugar will have varying amounts of cornstarch. This can affect the cookie dough, making it more or less dry. It may seem like the dough will need more liquid in the form of egg whites. Resist adding any more. Instead, simply use a stiff rubber spatula or even a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients together until they’re JUST moistened (any more, and the dough will be too stiff and hard to work with). It’ll come together, I promise.

Equipment You Need

  • The cookie dough will be very thin; it will be more like batter than traditional cookie dough. As a result, it can be hard to portion it out without the right tools. Invest in a cookie dough scoop! For this recipe, I used a 2-tablespoon cookie dough scoop. If you can only invest in one cookie dough scoop, I suggest buying a 1-tablespoon cookie dough scoop. You can then use it to form recipes that call for 2 tablespoon or 3 tablespoon sized cookies, too.

Baking Tips

  • Because the dough is SO liquidy, the cookies will spread generously in the oven. Be sure to leave plenty of space between each cookie. I ended up using a half sheet pan and only baking four cookies at a time on the pan!

  • These cookies have a tendency to stick to the parchment paper if underbaked, so please bake for the exact times listed. But if you’ve accidentally underbaked the cookies and find that they’re stuck to the paper, don’t panic! Instead, use a stiff metal spatula to unstick the cookies by sliding the spatula as far as it can go underneath the cookie and, with the spatula still underneath the cookie, carefully work your way around the cookie to unstick the edges. Once all the edges are unstuck, slide the spatula back underneath the cookie as far as it can go and carefully apply pressure to the center of the cookie to jimmy it loose.

  • If youโ€™ve gone the other way and ended up with cookies that are too brittle and crisp for your liking, don’t throw them out! You can soften them up to the perfect texture with little effort. Lay flat each cookie on a piece of parchment paper on the counter; let sit, uncovered and undisturbed, overnight. The next morning, the cookies will have softened up to a more ideal chewy and soft texture. These cookies are very similar to meringueโ€”in humid environments, theyโ€™ll absorb the moisture from the air and soften up considerably. If you live in a dry climate, place them on a baking sheet in the oven (turned off, please!) overnight with a glass of hot water to create a more humid environment.

Get the Recipe: Crispy Yet Chewy Flourless Chocolate Cookies

These flourless chocolate cookies are adapted from Franรงois Payard's famous chocolate walnut cookies and contain just five ingredients. Naturally gluten free, they taste like a combination of edge brownie pieces and chocolate meringues. The best part? I've scaled down the recipe to make a small batch of just 8 cookies!
(4.68 stars) 58 reviews
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Ingredients

  • 1 ยฝ cups (6 ounces or 170 grams) confectioners' sugar
  • โ…“ cup (1 ounce or 28 grams) Dutch-processed OR natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1 ยฝ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ยผ teaspoon kosher salt
  • โ…“ cup (2 ounces or 57 grams) chocolate chips

Instructions
 

For the Flourless Chocolate Cookies

  • Prep your oven and pans. Position racks in both the upper third and lower third racks of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ยฐF. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.
  • Make the cookies. In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder. Add the egg whites, vanilla, and salt and mix with a stiff rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the dough is just moistened. The dough will be liquidy like a batter. Mix in the chocolate chips.
  • Working quickly, use a 2-tablespoon cookie dough scoop to portion the dough into four evenly spaced mounds on each half sheet pan. Because the dough is so runny, the portions will likely look misshapenโ€”don't worry about it too much, they'll spread into even circles in the oven. Be sure to leave at least 3 inches between each cookie.
  • Bake the cookies. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are glossy and lightly cracked, rotating the pans between the two racks halfway through the bake time. Cool the cookies completely on the pan on wire racks. Once the cookies have cooled, use a stiff metal spatula to release each cookie by sliding it quickly and forcefully underneath each cookie.
  • Serve and store. Serve at room temperature. Store the flourless chocolate cookies in a zip top bag for up to 3 days at room temperature.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review in the form below. I appreciate your feedback, and it helps others, too!
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule

Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.