The recipe for these Gluten-Free Acorn Cookies came from my Great Aunt Es. If you like nuts and chocolate, these meringue cookies are for you. They don’t require any flour, so they’re ‘naturally’ gluten-free.
The way I make this recipe yields 8 dozen. That’s if your cookies are approximately 1 ½” in diameter. My Aunt Es had more patience and made her cookies about the size of a pecan, so I’m guessing she got at least 12 dozen out of a batch!
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ C blanched almonds (about ½ lb)
- 4 oz unsweetened chocolate (bar chocolate, not powder)
- 3 egg whites
- 1 T white vinegar
- ½ t salt
- 1 C sugar
- 1 t vanilla
- 2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ C pistachios, ground
Directions for Acorn Cookies
In a large bowl, coarsely grind/finely chop the half-pound of blanched almonds.
Grate the 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate and mix with the finely chopped almonds. Sprinkle the teaspoon of vanilla over the chocolate and almonds.
My food processor isn’t up for grating hard chocolate, so I hand grate the chocolate – which is a bit of a workout. You can also use a serrated knife and shave the chocolate if you don’t have a food processor or grater.
In a separate bowl, combine egg white, vinegar, and salt. Beat until stiff, but not dry. Add sugar gradually and continue beating until you get firm peaks.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Fold the egg white mixture into the grated chocolate and almonds.
Great Aunt Es: “Drop teaspoon-fulls of the dough one inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. Form into ovals about the size of a pecan.”
Me: “Drop generous teaspoon-fulls on a greased or parchment paper covered pan. (Tablespoon-fulls if you are short on time/patience.) Form into ovals about ⅜” thick.”
Bake at 250 degrees for 30 – 32 minutes or until firm. Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, and then move to rack to fully cool.
Directions for Acorn ‘Caps’
Finely chop your pistachios and set in a shallow bowl or plate.
In a separate bowl, melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips. I do this in the microwave because it’s the easiest. I microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each. This helps prevent overcooking. The chocolate will still have unmelted chunks after your last heating but stirring will smooth them out.
Dip the top one-third of each cookie in the melted chocolate and then spoon pistachios over the top. Place Gluten-Free Acorn Cookies on waxed paper or a rack and allow to cool. (If I have any leftover melted chocolate, I drizzle it over pretzels.)
Enjoy!
For another chocolate and nut dessert, try my recipe for Gluten-Free Brownies.