Sinless Chocolate? That is Heavenly!

So, I am never one to shy away from full fat/full calorie baked goods. I mean, come on, all that butter and sugar is what MAKES many desserts taste so darn good! Well, these little devils have sugar but are butterless and let me tell you, they deserve a place at the top of the dessert chain right along my Death by Chocolate Brownies (pic and recipe yet to be blogged about) and my Basic Blondies! I first saw this recipe a while back on a website for Weight Watcher users (I am not on WW but like to lurk around different boards). This recipe reappeared on TheNest's cooking board and I knew I had to make them. These cookies are so chocolatey, so rich and so sweet that you will swear you have died and gone to heaven. The best part is, these have all the flavor and texture as butter hoarding baked rivals but are much lower in fat, making them a fairly "sinless" dessert when looking at the alternative baked goods. I wouldn't call these a health food but I would call these little devils DELISH! Especially with a scoop of FroYo sandwiched between two of them.

Sinless Chocolate Chews

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 cup cocoa powder, (I used Ghiradeli unsweetened)

3 large egg whites

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, espresso powder, and cocoa. Set aside.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the egg whites and vanilla with a fork.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the egg whites, and mix either by hand with a spatula or at low speed with a mixer for 2 minutes.

The batter will seem dry at first, but will become shiny and smooth as it mixes.

Cover the bowl, and refrigerate the batter for 3 hours, or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchement paper (or these babies will stick!) Drop the dough by balls onto the prepared baking sheets using a medium icecream scoop (like from pampered chef)

Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes or until set around the edges.

Remove them from the oven, and cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.