Payard's Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies: KOSHER FOR PASSOVER!

Last year I got to work to find heaven on top of the beverage cooler where all the treats were always stored! My friend, Mara Sherman, brought in the most amazing cookies that she made for Passover. Passover, with little exception, means cardboard tasting, flavorless starchy gunk. I need to point out that these cookies are not good by Passover standards, they are sold at Payard, a famous patisserie on the Upper East Side, all year long. I wanted to make them this week, but work is too crazy and I wanted to get them to you before Passover. I promise if you make these this year, you will have happy campers at your seder table. Chewy, gooey and perfect.

Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
By Robin Raisfeld & Rob Patronite
Published Apr 13, 2008 in New York Magazine

François Payard’s Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies

2 3/4 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant. (1) Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them. Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. (2) In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen). (3) Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

I hear it's hard to get cookies off parchment- someone recommended dampening the back side of the parchment to get the cookies to slide off!