Sooo it was 10 p.m. one night and I was in the mood to whip something quick up.  I had a recipe that was basically 3 ingredients: egg whites, cocoa, and powdered sugar. 

How hard could that be?

So I started to make these cookies…

Then… I realized it required whipping the egg whites until they form “stiff peaks.”

Then…  I realized that I don’t have any patience.

To whip the egg whites, you put the stand mixer on high speed for about 5-10 minutes…to me, it seemed like eternity. Especially since it took me longer than 15 minutes (the key is to use room temperature eggs, which I did not).

I work fast and don’t wait around…

So I came to the conclusion that whipping egg whites is just not my thing.

Nonetheless, the cookies were bomb.  

VERY chocolateyyy and VERY few ingredients!             

Worth the whip time? 

…in hindsight, YES.

Chocolate Brownie Clusters

• 3 large egg whites
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cup (more or less) raw walnut halves (roughly chopped)

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees

- Put the egg whites and the lemon juice in a bowl with a stand mixer, fitted with a whip attachment (whips best if the egg whites are room temperature)

- Whip at a low speed until foamy.  Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form. (about 5-10 minutes). That means when you left the paddle, the peaks will hold their shape.

- Sift together the cocoa and powdered sugar.  Fold into batter with a runner spatula until the batter is smooth.  Fold in the walnuts until they are coated.

- Drop heaping tablespoons of batter on a cookie sheet. 

- Bake about 15-20 minutes, until the outsides of the cookies are crisp.  When you remove them from the oven you should be able to remove the clusters from the sheet.  If they can be removed, they are done.  Transfer to rack to cool.