Whether you celebrate Passover or not, this is a great and easy recipe for creating indulgent cookies with a lot of flavor and texture that don’t require a lot of time or ingredients!

The keys to this recipe are in the mixing and cooking – you must keep a close eye on both.

When you combine the wet and dry ingredients you want to be sure that the mixture doesn’t get over-beaten, as it will impact the height of your cookies. It may be easiest to just whisk by hand. During the bake time you want to be sure that you swap the trays around half way through as suggested, so that you can be sure to get the same cook on all of them. We found that they needed the full 16 minutes, but just keep a close eye on them as oven temps may vary and they may burn easily.

I adore you, Francois Payard!

François Payard’s Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
François Payard’s Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
Print Recipe François Payard’s Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Course: Comfort, Dessert, French, Holiday, Spring, Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 cups walnut halves
  • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant.
  • Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them. Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen).
  • Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.