Chocolate Coffee Cookies

Photo by Josh Goodwin

A flour-free, light and crispy cookie that's easy to make. Be sure to store them in an air-tight container so they stay fresh longer.

• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar*
• 3 TBSP cocoa powder
• 1 TBSP instant coffee
• 3 TBSP mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Separate three eggs, put whites in large bowl. Add cream of tartar and salt, whip with mixer until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar a tablespoon at a time, whip until firm peaks form.  Sift coffee and cocoa powder into egg white mixture and fold in. Add mini chocolate chips and fold in.

Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto the paper, or fill a pastry bag and pipe approximately a tablespoon of the mixture onto the paper.  Bake for 40 minutes or until cookies get crispy.

Place on rack and allow to cool completely. 

*Cream of tartar, or potassium bitartrate, is a natural occurring crystal that forms during the fermentation of grape juice in making wine and can also form behind the cork of wine already bottled. The crystals also will form in grape juice that is chilled.  These crystals are collected and purified to be used in many culinary applications.  It is used with egg whites to help stabilize the whites, make them more heat tolerant and maintain a greater volume when they are whipped.