Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookies

You know all those delicious chewy edges in a freshly baked pan of brownies? That's what these chocolate brownie cookies taste like. They are thin, soft, and chewy little fudge cookies that just happen to be gluten-free. In fact, they contain no flour at all.

If you or someone in your family is on a gluten-free diet, that will come as particularly good news. But, these cookies are not just for the gluten-free amongst us. These chocolate brownie cookies are for anyone who's ever picked at the edges and corners of a pan of brownies, hoping no one will notice.

Lindt makes these amazing dark chocolate bars that are infused with spicy red chili. I love them. Despite the name, they aren't spicy at all. The chili flavor is subtle, complementing the flavor of the chocolate and delivering a very light kick.

Happening to have one of these chocolate bars on hand, I chopped it up and threw it into my chocolate brownie cookie dough along with a pinch of cayenne. Because... why not? Chili is an excellent complementary flavor to chocolate. I figured it would give these cookies a richer, more complex flavor and hoped it would also give them a slight kick without being overtly spicy.

I was right. The chili in these cookies is so subtle, you might have a hard time picking it out on its own. But, it adds that special something that makes you pause mid-bite to consider what's in there. In a good way, of course.

A handful of honey-roasted almonds adds a lovely sweet crunch if you can manage not to eat the whole jar beforehand. In my house, that's a big if. I had to hide the jar, even from myself.

You, of course, don't have to include them if you'd prefer your cookies to be only chewy, rather than chewy with a bit of crunch. I used almonds, but any type of honey-roasted or candied nuts would be delicious. They not only add a nutty crunch but some additional sweetness alongside all that dark chocolate.

Be careful not to over-bake these cookies

Because of their dark color, knowing when these cookies are done baking is tricky. I suggest erring on the side of underdone. Although, I over-baked the first pan of cookies and they're pretty good too. They are just more crunchy than chewy.

If you're aiming for chewy, bake these cookies just until they look set, about 10-12 minutes. You might want to wait for the first pan to cool before baking the rest so that you can taste one and see if the baking time is to your liking or if you need to shorten or lengthen it for the rest of the cookies.

In the same way brownies are good with ice cream, these cookies are good with custard or pudding.

I have not made tapioca pudding in years, but I made some yesterday and ate it with these cookies. Delicious. I think they'd be yummy served alongside any kind of custard or pudding, particularly vanilla or butterscotch.

Even better, I think the next time I make these, I'll serve them with Chai Pots de Creme.

Used in this chocolate brownie cookie recipe: