Dark Chocolate Christmas Cookies

One of my favorite dark chocolate dessert recipes.

Nov 17, 2006

Egg whites keep this cookie recipe low fat. Dark chocolate and nuts keep these cookies rich and sweet. Your friends will never know they're low calorie, too!

This is one of the richest healthy cookie recipes I've ever made.

The only fat in these Christmas cookies comes from the almonds. And almonds are a real superfood, providing a terrific source of fiber, protein, calcium and certain minerals. Plus, the dark chocolate is high in certain antioxidants which may lower blood pressure.

For my tests, I used Trader Joe's 72% bittersweet chocolate. But there's no reason you can't use 60% dark chocolate chips or even semisweet chocolate chips.

Dark Chocolate Christmas Cookies

6 oz dark chocoate (preferably 60% or greater)
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup finely ground almonds

Melt dark chocolate in microwave at 30-second intervals on 70% power until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two large cookie sheets with nonstick spray. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Continue beating, adding in sugar and vanilla slowly, until mixture forms stiff peaks.

Gently fold in chocolate and almonds until fully incorporated. Drop teaspoons of batter onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving one inch between cookies.

Bake 10-12 minutes, switching racks (put bottom cookie sheet on top rack and top cookie sheet on bottom rack) halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Cookies are done when there is a light crust on the outside, but they are soft on the inside.

Makes 36 cookies.

Per cookie: 52 calories, 3 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein, 0% Vitamin A, 0% Vitamin C, 1% calcium, 2% iron