Flourless Chocolate Cashew Cookies

Foodie Factoid: Cashews were given their botanical name (anacardium occidentale) because of their heart shaped appearance. Sounds like they’re perfect for Valentine’s Day!

Today is an exciting baking day: I FINALLY GOT A REAL CAMERA! Ok it’s not a DSLR or anything, just a standard point and shoot, but now I can stop being that blogger who takes crappy pictures on her phone. Instead I can be the blogger who takes crappy pictures with a real camera haha. Ok, I mean I think my pictures are bit better I’ve skipped straight to shooting off auto since that’s what everyone says I should do. Obviously it’ll take me a bit of time to get used to the camera and the features, but heck anything is better than my smartphone! And let’s be honest, photographing anything chocolatey is always a pain in the ass, the dark coloring is not conducive for easy photography. 

The best part about these cookies  is, they only have 4 mandatory ingredients. I feel like I’m talking about Chopped haha. Is anyone else as addicted to that show as I am? I know whenever anyone asks me what my favorite TV show is that’s usually my go to answer. Although, I’d say that Sherlock is a pretty close second. Benedict Cumberbatch may be the best thing that ever happened to movies/TV. Enough said. I usually don’t geek out about celebrities, but for him I make an exception. Are there any other Sherlock fans out there? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the most recent season of the show–I definitely have mixed feelings.

 As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not the biggest chocolate fan, but these cookies were amazing! I couldn’t stop eating them. (Looks like I’m going to have to eat a light dinner tonight haha.) They’re crispy on the outside with a super fudgy and gooey center. So delicious! You don’t have to add cashews, you can totally go wild with different nuts or dried fruit. Even adding some chocolate chips probably wouldn’t hurt ;). Just don’t add gummy bears. I’m serious. I may or may not have tried that over the weekend and I may or may not have gotten extremely upset while trying to scrape gummy bear residue off my cookie sheet. Never happened. Anyway, definitely try out these cookies! They’re gluten free so that means almost everyone can enjoy them :).

Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod 

Preheat oven to 350ºF

1 c cashews (for an extra chocolate kick consider using chocolate covered cashews)
3 c powdered sugar
4 egg whites
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla

1. Mix together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla.
2. Lightly beat the egg whites just until they’re a bit foamy and then add into the other ingredients.
3. Fold in the cashews.
4. Bake for 12-13 minutes–until the tops of the cookies crack and they become puffy. The centers will be slightly gooey.