I promised...

I promised on twitter that I'd post recipes of two of the most delicious kosher for passover, gluten-free cookies ever thought of (at least in my experience). I think I've come through with that promise, but feel free to comment as to whether you do or don't agree with me. The first recipe will be in this post today. The second will be up tomorrow, so check back, quickly-- passover won't last forever! (Although I'll admit, these cookies are terrific passover time and non-passover time, unlike the "baked goods" they sell in the stores for this Jewish holiday.) The only thing is, you have to NOT have a nut allergy. Both recipes are loaded with nuts, but in a very balanced way. That is, nuts compose a large part of the ingredients for each, but there's a lot more to these than just nuts.

Moving on, here's the recipe for the first one.
I adapted from François Payard's Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies. Although his recipe is probably great, I wanted more cookies and the kosher for passover confectioners sugar I had looked kind of gross. I did some improvising, next time will improvise more, but the cookies turned out amazing. When I brought them out at last night's seder, several people asked, in awe, if they were really kosher for passover. It's true. They are. Shock your friends, go ahead, try 'em.

Chocolate Walnut Chews 
recipe makes about 40-50 cookies

1 1/2 c cocoa
2 c granulated sugar
2 c superfine sugar
1/4 c potato starch
3 1/2 c walnuts
1/2 t salt
8 egg whites
1 T really good vanilla

While you preheat oven to 350, toast walnuts in a single layer on a sheet pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit. Roughly chop walnuts, set aside. In a large bowl, mix cocoa, sugars, and potato starch. Add walnuts and salt, stir to combine. Add egg whites, two at a time, until batter is moist. (If you add them all at once, it's not the end of the world--if batter ends up being too liquidy, as mine was, you may put it in the freezer for 20 min, then scoop and bake.) Add vanilla, and stir to incorporate.

Lower oven temp to 320. Scoop dough by the tablespoon (or half of an ice cream scooper) onto parchment lined pans. Bake 12-15 min. Let cool on pans, slightly, and then remove to cooling rack. Cool completely, then plate, and shock your guests.