Eggless Italian Chocolate Nut Cookies

I missed DK’s earlier 2 events, so this time I wanted to send at least one entry as early as possible. This month’s theme being Italian and since I’m into eggless baking, I searched for Italian cookies and found this. Lot of versions of these cookies are available throughout the net, but I found this one to be the easiest. These are eggless whole wheat flour cookies, with a lot of almonds and raisins.
Yield: 53 small cookies
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan.
3. Heat slowly, stirring till the mixture resembles a syrup. Let cool to room temperature.
4. Combine flour with baking powder and spices (if using).
5. Pour in chocolate syrup and work into a stiff batter. (See My Notes)
6. Add almonds and raisins. Raisins generally stick together, so take little flour and mix it with the raisins and separate them with your fingers, so the raisins will be spread uniformly throughout the batter.
7. I scooped out the dough using half tablespoon (see My Notes) and dropped it on the cookie sheet. The cookie does not spread, so leaving 1/2 inch space in between is sufficient. I was able to arrange 24 cookies in a large baking sheet.
9. Remove it from the oven and let it cool in the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
10. Then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies tasted more like chewy brownies with the perfect amount of sweetness from the combination of brown sugar and raisins.
2. At first I doubted the measurements, because I felt that adding the entire syrup would make the batter very watery. So I reserved 1/4th of the syrup and added the almonds and raisins. But once they were added the dough became very stiff, so I added the reserved syrup also which gave the right consistency to the dough. It was neither very stiff nor watery.
3. Spray the tablespoon with some non stick spray, so the dough will fall off the spoon easily. If you want perfect shaped cookies you can shape the dough into balls and arrange it on a cookie sheet or else you can simply drop it to get a nice rustic look.
4. The flavor of cocoa was dominant than the sweetness. I liked it very much. But if you have a very sweet tooth, you may want to increase the quantity of sugar.
5. I would also suggest toasting the almonds before adding it to the batter to give a nice crunch to the cookies.

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July 28th, 2008 at 6:34 am
those look great and quite chocolatey.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:45 am
They look so plump, chewy and chocolatey
July 28th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Madhuram, these cookies look crumbly and chocolatey! Will try them out! Have to appreciate the step by step photos too! I tried doing that for sometime but found it difficult!
July 28th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Hey Madhuram,
I would have tried these for the party yesterday. 
Yummy looking cookies.
Just celebrated my son’s 5th B’day yesterday. Wish you had posted this recipe last week
Anyway, cookies look delicious. Will give it a try soon.
July 28th, 2008 at 8:42 am
they look superb, madhu!!! absolutely delectable!
July 28th, 2008 at 9:58 am
These look absolutely delicious, Madhuram. I too make a chocolate cookie with Droste cocoa that I absolutely adore. By the way, I love the detail you put into describing your recipes.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Eggless cookie, they look delicious and crunchy
July 28th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
looks delicious, eggless is so nice!
July 28th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
they look beautiful madhu! chocolate and nuts, what more could one ask! I too posted a cranberry-orange-pecan bread today, with eggless version too
July 28th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Thanks for taking the time to give us a step by step demo!
July 28th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Hi Madhuram,
Have you tried Soy Margarine (WHole foods) – it’s a great sub for regular margarine/Smart Balance. FYI. Thanks for this awesome recipe. I’ve bookmarked it. –Deepa
July 28th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Yummy chocolatey and nutty cookies. Loved the step-by-step photos and the notes.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:22 am
These cookies look amazing and so choclatey.
July 29th, 2008 at 4:59 am
wonderful recipe madhu. recently i have been baking a lot and quite enjoying for my own surprise;) ur eggless bakes are surely gonna be in my list to try.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Cookies look so tasty! I have to try this recipe.
July 29th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Bee, yes they were chocolatey.
Laavanya, it is chewy and tempting. I’m snacking on it even now.
Sunshinemom, the credit goes to my husband. He insists on doing this and he takes the pictures.
Anjali, belated birthday wishes for your son. Do try the cookies and turn any ordinary day into a special day.
JZ, thank you very much.
Vaishali, thank you very much. I remember how apprehensive I was about baking before I could start, so I want to be as clear as possible.
Cynthia, it’s my dear husband’s idea and effort.
Deepa, I have not tried Soy maragarine. Thanks for the tips, will try it soon.
Sia, tell me about it. Once we start it, somehow we get addicted to baking I guess.
Kumudha, sure you could use soy maragarine.
Cham, Shreya, Mansi, Aparna, Jayasree thank you very much.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
What can I say except thats been said before! They r so plump and am sure a delight to the mouth!
Looks v v v v yum Madhu….Another crowd pleaser from u…Thanks for sendin these my way -luv them
July 30th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Madhu
well done…..eggless chocolate cookies is worth the search and you have made it very nicely.Thanks also for passing through my blog and leaving such encouraging words.