Chocolate Crackle Cookies
CAUTION: These chocolate crackle cookies are addictive and you likely won’t be able to stop at just one.
Why you ask? They have a thin crispy outer shell that gives way to an amazing melt-in-the-mouth texture, they have a rich chocolate flavour from dutch process cocoa, and they contain sugar. I’ve also adapted the recipe to use rice syrup as the sweetener, and this version is much safer to eat.
I created this recipe a little while ago after trying some amazing cookies my sister made. Turns out they were from a packet mix but they were ridiculously good with a rich chocolate flavour, thin crispy shells, and soft crumbly insides that literally melted in your mouth. They were dairy and gluten free, but made with a fair amount of sugar.
Naturally I wanted to see if I could create a similar chocolate cookie using less sugar or even better rice syrup, which doesn’t contain any fructose. I perfected the recipe using raw sugar and coconut sugar as the sweetener and a mix of rice, tapioca and cornflour as the flour.
These ingredients however, are not are not approved for anyone on a low or no sugar diet so I also created a recipe using rice syrup as the sweetener. The resulting cookies are almost as good as the originals, but don’t quite have the same moreish-ness which is not surprising as they contain no fructose.
To create the crackled appearance on top of the cookies they’re dipped in icing sugar before baking. If you want a really defined crackle top you need to coat them quite well, but if you’re after a melted snow look then a light coating suffices. For a sugar free option cornflour will do the job too, and for a grain free option you can use coconut flour, although it discolours a little on baking. Equally, leaving them plain creates just as beautiful a cookie and they taste equally delicious! Enjoy.
Chocolate Crackle Cookies
ORIGINAL RECIPE
Makes: approximately 24 cookies
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 10 to 12 minutes
100g rice flour
50g tapioca flour
35g cornflour
150g organic raw sugar or coconut sugar
50g dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
100g coconut oil, melted
1 Tbsp water
icing sugar or cornflour for dusting (optional)
Preheat oven to 160ºC fan bake and line two baking trays. Combine the flours, sugar, cocoa, salt and raising agents in a bowl.
Lightly beat the eggs with a fork, combine with coconut oil and water, add to the bowl and stir well to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
Roll spoonfuls of cookie dough into balls, place on the lined baking trays and lightly press into a cookie shape. If you wish to create the crackle look, dip into icing sugar or cornflour.
Place the cookies into the centre of the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are ready when risen and formed a crust.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the trays before serving warm. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
NOTE: the rice flour, tapioca flour, cornflour, baking powder and baking soda can be replaced by 185g of a store bought, self-raising gluten free flour mix.
RICE SYRUP RECIPE
Makes: approximately 24 cookies
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 8 to 10 minutes
130g rice flour
50g tapioca flour
35g cornflour
150g rice syrup
50g dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
100g coconut oil, melted
1 Tbsp water
icing sugar or cornflour for dusting (optional)
Preheat oven to 160ºC fan bake and line two baking trays. Combine the flours, cocoa, salt and raising agents in a bowl.
Lightly beat the eggs with a fork, combine with rice syrup, coconut oil and water, add to the bowl and stir well to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
Roll spoonfuls of cookie dough into balls, place on the lined baking trays and lightly press into a cookie shape. If you wish to create the crackle look, dip in icing sugar or cornflour.
Place the cookies into the centre of the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies are ready when risen and formed a crust.
Remove the cookies from oven and allow to cool on the trays before serving warm. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
NOTE: the rice flour, tapioca flour, cornflour, baking powder and baking soda can be replaced by 215g of a store bought, self-raising gluten free flour mix.
