Fudgy Flourless Cookies

In a bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and both sugars. Make sure sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is soft, not gritty. Add eggs and vanilla, and continue to beat until smooth, light and fluffy.

Slowly add cocoa mixture, adding in small increments to avoid creating a dust cloud of chocolate. (Not that there’s anything wrong with a cloud of chocolate.) Keep mixing, scraping down the sides of the bowl intermittently, until all dry ingredients have been added and cookie batter is smooth. Remember: there is no gluten in this recipe, so there’s no danger of overheating it and ending up with tough cookies.

Gently mix in chocolate chips or chunks and nuts, if using. Cover batter and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.

Fifteen minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350ºF and position rack in the center of the oven. Prepare a baking sheet and line with parchment or a silicone mat.

When oven temperature reaches 350ºF, take cookie batter out of the refrigerator. Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, portion out cookies, about 12 to a sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Return remaining batter to the refrigerator.

Bake cookies 10 minutes, then remove from oven. Leave cookies on the sheet for a minute before carefully transferring to a cooling rack. Cookies will be very soft, but will set as they cool. Continue baking remaining cookies.

Store in an airtight container. Cookies remain soft and chewy for days.

Notes:
1. If the bottoms of the cookies appear to cook too quickly, move the oven rack one notch higher.
2. You can add chopped walnuts to the batter if desired.
3. The cocoa powder and chocolate pieces are the main stars of this cookie. Use the best quality ingredients if possible.