Let's be honest.
My siblings and I love to eat.
We have numerous celebratory gatherings throughout the year to mark just about any occasion.
Secretly maybe more so than the event we love the food!
We mostly all love to cook and share our new recipes.
However in recent times my brothers have tried to sabotage this experience with their food intolerances! Ok, that is a joke. Seriously one brother has Coeliac's Disease and becomes violently ill at any trace of gluten. My other brother struggles with dairy and even though he can take tablets, surely it's best for him not to eat it.
With this in mind we are becoming very creative in finding new recipes and replacements for our gatherings. And as I am never one to want to compromise taste or quality these substitutes need to be delicious.
So imagine my delight when I discovered this recipe on pinterest which is both gluten-free and dairy-intolerant friendly (of course this depends on what chocolate you use and how your dairy-intolerant folk cope with chocolate). Gorgeous Amira (who was also celebrating her joy at her KitchenAid stand mixer - oh how I relate!) on her blog Divine Baking posted this recipe. Go check out her delightful site, and her step-by-step pictures on how to make these cookies.
http://www.divine-baking.com/2011/04/deep-dark-chocolate-cookies.html
Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients:Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup dark chocolate
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided (Amira used 2 cups)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray (or if you hate washing up just use grease-proof paper like me).
3. Melt dark chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.
4. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a large bowl to soft peaks.
5. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar (Amira halved the sugar here). Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme.
6. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornflour, and salt in a medium bowl.
7. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites.
8. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and the chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).
9. Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart.
10. Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on trays for 10 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
Yield: Makes about 18
The ones I baked:
I do believe this recipe originally came from the epicurious website and was created by The Bon Appetit Test Kitchen (credit where credit is due). http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Deep-Dark-Chocolate-Cookies-242468
What food intolerances or allergies do you need to cater for?
What great substitute ingredients you can suggest?
