flourless fudge drops (gluten-free)

I have a few friends who are gluten-intolerant, and gluten-free recipes often catch my eye. When KAF's bakers blogged about a gluten-free, flourless chocolate fudge cookie, I figured it was worth a try. These are remarkably tasty, chewy, and loaded with chocolate chips (which I added). You don't even miss the gluten.

This recipe is about as simple as it gets: stir everything together all at once, scoop, bake.

Note: I don't claim to know much about celiac disease, so I would urge anyone making these to ensure that all of the ingredients you use are truly gluten-free, such as vanilla extract.

Flourless Fudge Drops

2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 cup (3 ounces) cocoa powder

3 large egg whites

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 to 1 cup (3-6 ounces) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line cookie sheets with parchment or silpats.

Stir together all ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then stir once more until smooth.

Scoop the dough and drop onto the cookie sheets. Your dough will probably spread, rather than holding its shape like most drop cookies. A tablespoon cookie scoop works well, but you can size the cookies to your liking.

Bake for 8 minutes. They will spread, get a little crackly on top, and become a little shiny. Let them cool right on the pans.

Makes about 16- 3" cookies.