Puddle Cookies

Good evening darling readers. Do you know what you do when you travel halfway across the world and subsequently suffer from severe jet lag? And somehow, after being up all night, when you do feel like sleeping, your Little Girl is more interested in playing and practising her standing up? You bake, that's what you do. And may I suggest these absolutely delightful Puddle Cookies? I found them on Stonesoup, a lovely blog with great recipes. When I saw it, I thought "Aaah, another use for egg whites. Must remember this one." I saved the shortcut, and kept it in back of my mind.

If you like making ice cream like I do, you usually have a stash of egg whites in the freezer. I have a few ideas about using them, mostly in the line of marshmallows and meringues, but rarely actually get around to it. I'm planning to make the meringue cookies from Smitten Kitchen, but I'm still a bit intimidated by the thought of making marshmallows. Maybe one day when I'm all grown up.

So another recipe for egg whites is always welcome. Especially if the recipe only has 5 ingredients, there's no whipping involved, it's easy to add your own favourite ingredients, and it tastes absolutely divine. And it tastes absolutely divine. You see what I did there? They are so divine, I had to say it twice. And then, as if this recipe isn't fabulous enough, it is fat free, which means you can have as many cookies as you want.

And you'll want more than one, I promise. If you're able to wait for it to cool down, you obviously have more patience than I do. When it's still warm from the oven, you have a crackly, chewy exterior with a meltingly warm interior. If you manage to wait until it's cool, you have a crackly, chewy exterior with a fabulous gooey inside. Which is what I call win-win. And the taste is divine. (Have I said this already?). Deeply intensely chocolatey. All thanks to cocoa, not a block of chocolate in sight.

If you read the blog post comments on Stonesoup, you'll see that several people have already made it, loved it, and have ideas about making it their own. I'm thinking oats in lieu of a portion of the nuts. But please make this and decide on your own variation, if any. And if you haven't already, hop over to Stonesoup for other fabulous recipes.

Puddle Cookies
Makes about 12, depending on what size you want

155g (1 1/2 cup) roasted and chopped nuts
225g (2 cups) icing/powdered sugar
30g (1/3 cup) cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg whites

Preheat your oven to 160°C.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined.

Spoon heaped tablespoons full onto baking sheets lined with baking paper. Leave plenty of room for spreading.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until crackly on top. Cool on the trays.