325F - 12 to 15 min
I've used both 365 organic powdered sugar from Whole Foods, and
Hain organic powdered sugar with success. I prefer to use non-alkalized
cocoa powder (Scharrfen Berger or Dagoba) but also tested with Droste,
which is a Dutch-process cocoa powder. All with success. On the nut
front, be mindful of how you toast your walnuts - it's the single factor
that impacts the personality of these cookies most. Using deeply
toasted walnuts makes for a much more intense, nutty cookie. Lightly
toasted walnuts can sometimes be mistaken for chocolate chips, and make
for a much more mild cookie. Both good! Also, cooking time - you don't
want to over or under bake here - over bake, and your cookies will cool
too a crisp, under bake, and they are too floppy and crumbly. Also,
underbaking makes it more difficult to remove the cookies from the
parchment paper after baking - you get the swing of it after a batch or
two. Use large eggs, I suspect if you use extra-large, the batter will
run, and you'll have to compensate with more powdered sugar.
3 cups / 11 oz / 310 g walnut halves, toasted & cooled
4 cups / 1 lb / 453 g confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons / 2 oz / 60 g unsweetened cocoa powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoon real, good-quality vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 320F / 160C degrees and position racks in the top and
bottom third. Line three (preferably rimmed) baking sheets with
parchment paper. Or you can bake in batches with fewer pans.
Make sure your walnuts have cooled a bit, then chop coarsely and set
aside. Sift together the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and sea
salt. Stir in the walnuts, then add the egg whites and vanilla. Stir
until well combined.
Spoon the batter onto the prepared sheets in mounds of about 2
tablespoons each, allowing for PLENTY of room between cookies. These
cookies are like reverse Shrinky Dinks - they really expand. Don't try
to get more than 6 cookies on each sheet, and try to avoid placing the
batter too close to the edge of the pan.
Bake until they puff up. The tops should get glossy, and then crack a
bit - about 12 -15 minutes. Have faith, they look sad at first, then
really blossom. You may want to rotate the pans top/bottom/back/front.
Slide the cookies still on parchment onto a cooling rack, and let
them cool completely. They will keep in an airtight for a couple days.
Makes 18 large cookies.
101 Cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/
Joules Here:
I would say, we need to cut it down to about 1/2 tablespoon per cookies to get more quantity out of this recipe. The cookies are very large and very yummy!
