My girlfriend from the South Bay introduced me to these amazing treats. I didn't believe that they could be THAT good. I was hooked at first bite. They aren't like your traditional cookies-they're a cross between a cookie and a meringue. There's no flour involved. Just a whole lot of powdered sugar instead. The outside of the cookie is light and crispy and the inside of the cookie is chewy and gooey. It has a rich chocolate flavor. I found this recipe from losangelestimes.com. They're able to get recipes that an average joe just can't. My gain!
When you bake them, use a small ice cream scooper so the sizes of the cookies are consistent, but then use a knife or a small off set spatula to flatten them out a bit. If you don't flatten them out they taste like they're almost raw on the inside-although it still tastes good, but just not how I like them or how the bakery makes them.
Torrance Bakery Chocolate Chewies
Active Work Time: 30 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour
Rather than cracking a number of eggs, you can buy cartons of liquid egg whites at supermarkets.
1 cup egg whites
1 3/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 pound walnut or pecan pieces
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together the egg whites, cocoa, salt and sugar on medium speed until the batter is stiff and all ingredients are well incorporated, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the walnuts or pecans by hand.
Place the batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet; work in batches. Bake until the cookies are a bit shiny and slightly cracked, 10 minutes. They will look underdone but do not overbake.
48 cookies. Each cookie: 125 calories; 34 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 1.67 grams fiber.
