Grandbaby Cakes' Gluten-Free Chocolate Orange Cookies

Every week, we’re spotlighting a different food blogger who’s shaking up the blogosphere with tempting recipes and knockout photography. Here, Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby Cakes shows off her chewy, decadent chocolate-orange cookies…which just happen to be gluten-free.

Flourless Chocolate Orange Cookies
Serves: 12-14 cookies

Gluten isn’t fair. Neither are carbs. I’m kinda sick of both robbing people of their glorious traditional baked goods.

My uncle Larry is the one in our family who suffers most from gluten issues. Every Thanksgiving in Mississippi, he brings his own gluten-free cake and biscuit mixes to bake while the rest of us get down on my grandmother’s homemade biscuits, cakes, and famous rolls. I feel for him. The rest of us just may be afflicted with carb addiction!

These cookies help in both regards. First of all, they are flourless. Secondly, they are sensational! The chewy texture is to-die-for. The chocolate is beyond intense. And the slight hint of orange zest really heightens the flavor of the cookies. (You can never go wrong with citrus, right?)

The results are completely decadent. You won’t miss a thing—except the gluten and carbs, of course.

2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus more for serving
3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. fresh orange zest
3 large egg whites
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract (make sure it’s gluten-free)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and orange zest in a medium sized bowl.

Slowly whisk in egg whites and vanilla extract until combined. Continue folding the batter with a spatula. The mixture will get harder and harder to mix and will be quite thick. This is completely normal.

Spoon tablespoons of batter on a parchment-lined baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes, then cool.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, and serve. I love them warm.

More gluten-free recipes:

Coconut flour pancakes to make mornings decadent

Tantalizing, gluten-free gingersnaps to nibble on this winter

Tofu scramble corn tortillas for your Mexican fix

Are you gluten-free? What’s your favorite sweet recipe?