Instructions

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  1. In a double boiler or in the microwave, gently melt the chocolate, stirring frequently to avoid scorching. Remove from the heat.

  2. Add the butter to the melted chocolate bit by bit, stirring until melted. The chocolate may become a bit grainy from the water in the butter; that's OK.

  3. Whip the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes, until thickened and foamy. Fold this mixture into the chocolate-butter mixture, then gently blend in the almond flour. Chill the batter for 1 to 3 hours, until stiffened.

  4. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.

  5. Drop the chilled batter by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared pan, spacing them about 2" apart. Immediately transfer the pan to the oven.

  6. Bake until the cookies are firm, about 10 to 13 minutes. Allow them to cool completely on the parchment before removing.

  7. Cookies may be served immediately; or stored at room temperature, tightly wrapped with plastic and the layers separated with parchment or waxed paper, for 3 to 5 days.

Tips from our Bakers

  • Whipping the eggs with a hand-held mixer is most effective; but if your stand mixer will whip two eggs efficiently, feel free to use it. Often a stand mixer's ability to whip a small volume improves when the clearance between the bowl and the whisk attachment is decreased (just make sure they don't bump into each other while the mixer is running). Consult your owner's manual to adjust this distance if your stand mixer is having trouble dealing with small amounts of ingredients.
  • These cookies can be made with twice as much almond flour as listed in the recipe. Although the batter is thicker, and the chocolate flavor a bit milder, the cookies are no less enjoyable.
  • Because chocolate is such a large percentage of the ingredients in this recipe, the amount of cocoa solids in the chocolate you choose will affect the texture, height, and flavor of these cookies enormously. We tried a bittersweet chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa solids and found that the cookies spread very little, and were unpleasantly bitter. We then tried our Merckens' bittersweet chocolate, and found that this chocolate's lower percentage of cocoa solids (51%) seemed just right; any semisweet chocolate with this percentage of cocoa solids will also work. We also made this recipe using half Merckens’ milk chocolate and half Merckens bittersweet, and achieved cookies that spread and baked well. If you like a milder chocolate flavor, this latter mixture of chocolates is an option.

  • Be aware: some of your baking ingredients can be a hidden source of gluten. Learn more at our blog post: For gluten-free baking, think beyond just flour. For additional information on King Arthur-produced products, read the complete details of our allergen program, including our contact-prevention practices.

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