makes
15-20
prep
10 minutes
cook
8 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
15-20
serves
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
8
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 105 g or 3 extra large egg whites
- 1 ½ cups (190 g) icing sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup Dutch process cocoa or high-quality baking cocoa
- 1 tsp instant espresso coffee powder (optional)
- zest of 1 orange (optional, but with pistachios this is a particularly good pairing)
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) roasted hazelnuts or nut of choice, very roughly chopped
- 1 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (optional - if using, reduce quantity of nuts to 1 cup. The ratio of each is up to you, but the mixture will tolerate 2 cups of additions)
Cooling time 10 minutes
Instructions
Preheat oven to 170°C or 160°C fan-forced.
Mix all the ingredients, except the nuts and chopped chocolate, with an electric cake mixer or whisk until just smooth. Add the nuts and chocolate, then stir to combine. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and dollop tablespoons of the batter onto the trays, leaving 3 cm gaps between the cookies. Bake for 8 minutes. When the cookies are out of the oven the surface should be slightly cracked and glossy like a brownie. Cool on a wire rack completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. These are best eaten within 2 weeks.
Note
• If you overbeat the batter, you'll lose that dense, chewy, brownie-like texture and instead get a fluffy insubstantial cookie that somehow fails to satisfy. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! As soon as the mixture is combined, stop.
Reproduced with permission from the book Same Same But Different by Poh Ling Yeow, published by ABC Books/HarperCollins Publishers Australia, 2014.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
