Published October 6, 2019

I was inspired by this recipe that I found on Pinterest, because it’s a flourless, butter-free, chocolate cookie.

My sister and I have been baking the pumpkin-print sugar cookies, but I’ve been craving a decadent chocolate cookie. This recipe is it!

Fudgy Double Chocolate Crackle Cookie Ingredients

Luckily my sister is a baker and already had cocoa powder. I bought parchment paper for my pumpkin spice cookie recipe, so I had that leftover.

I went to the store to buy chocolate chips and cornstarch (which I bought on sale). This recipe was under $20 in total and an easy list to work with.

How to Make Double Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Since this recipe doesn’t use flour or butter, the base of the cookie dough is a meringue. I attempted to make meringue cookies once when I was 13 years old and it turned out like sugary scrambled eggs. It was disgusting.

I made sure for these double chocolate crackle cookies, that I whipped the egg whites until they were marshmallow-y clouds.

How Do I Melt My Chocolate Chips?

Aside from the meringue, these chocolate crackle cookies are easy to make. You can melt your chocolate using the double boiler method, but I didn’t. I microwaved them for 1 minute or so, stirring every 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. You can let it cool before adding it into your dough — but not enough that it would harden and become immobile.

Cookie Dough Texture

As you add the dry ingredients to the meringue, you’ll watch the fluffy meringue change in texture. At first, I panicked that I over-mixed my meringue and that something had gone wrong. It was fine though — adding the melting chocolate and chocolate chips thickened the meringue until it formed a traditional cookie dough.

Eventually you’ll have to switch to hand-folding (unless you have the proper KitchenAid attachment), as the dough becomes dense. I used a metal tablespoon instead of my rubber spatula.

The Final Product

Overall Thoughts

Chocolate Crackle Cookie Texture

I didn’t roll the first batch of cookies in the powdered sugar for baking. Their texture looked more like a chocolate or molasses cookie.

The second and third batches of cookies I rolled in powdered sugar before baking and their outer edges were cracked and marbled with flecks of white sugar.

The cookie had a thin, crisp outer shell, while the inner cookie was a fudgy, almost chocolate lava cake texture. My sister said it was like eating brownies hot from the oven.

Some of the chocolate chips held their form, but were melted for double the chocolate flavor. It was rich and decadent (have a fresh gallon of milk to drink with these).

Portion and Serving

My chocolate crackle cookie dough made 18 cookies in total. The first batch of cookies I formed with a generous scoop using a tablespoon. They were the size of my pumpkin spice cookies.

The second and third batches, I used half of a tablespoon, and made smaller bite-sized cookies (like my raspberry and fig thumbprint cookies).

I tested these cookies hot from the oven and they were to die for. I only let them cool for 5 minutes before breaking one in half. It was gooey and delicious.

My family devoured these crackle cookies several hours later, after they had cooled on the counter. They were just as soft as when they were fresh from the oven. I still covered them with plastic wrap and kept them on the counter.

Recipe Score

I would give these double chocolate crackle cookies a 12/10 for the following:

• Recipe Level

  • Intermediate: I don’t always like to mark recipes above beginner, since you can have any background and skill set to approach a recipe with. However, there are a few pieces of this recipe which can be more challenging than most. For example, the meringue — which is the base of the cookie dough. Timing the cookies so you don’t over bake them and melting the chocolate so it doesn’t burn are two other pieces of this recipe that can make it more challenging.

• Ingredients

  • For a recipe that tastes like a million bucks, these cookies require few ingredients! The key part of these ingredients is to make sure that you’re not using a sweetened ingredient when it calls for unsweetened. Also make sure your egg whites are at room temperature to make the best meringue.

• Prep

  • The only prep is to let the eggs sit out at room temperature at least 30-minutes before you start baking.

• Flavor

  • 12/10: You know I’m a butter fanatic. For this recipe to be so rich and luxurious and not have thirty pounds of butter, is what I’m most impressed by. I love the cookie textures and the fact that it’s a cross between all my favorite desserts (brownies, chocolate cake, and cookies!).

K. Martinelli Makes Double Chocolate Crackle Cookies

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