Chocolate-Cherry Cookies with Pistachios

Aside from being a decadent treat that will satisfy your chocolate craving, there’s a secret ingredient that helps bind these light, delicate, and flavorful cookies. Aquafaba! It’s the liquid that remains after cooking chickpeas. You can drain a can of chickpeas, which should yield ½ to ¾ cup, or cook your own chickpeas, reserving the cooking liquid. It’s a great vegan stand-in for eggs—you can even whip it into a meringue! When combined with other ingredients, especially chocolate, the flavor of the chickpeas is undetectable.

INGREDIENTS for chocolate-cherry cookies

Makes about 1 dozen cookies

• 1 cup almond flour
• ⅓ cup coconut sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ cup packed chopped dried sour cherries
• ¼ cup pistachios, roughly chopped
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup aquafaba (chickpea liquid, unsalted)
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3 tablespoon coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
• ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped bittersweet chocolate

METHOD to make chocolate-cherry cookies

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, half of the coconut sugar, cocoa powder, cherries, pistachios, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed, beat the aquafaba and cream of tartar until foamy, about 1 minute. With the mixer on, add the remaining coconut sugar to the tablespoonful. Beat to stiff peaks until thick and fluffy, 4 to 6 minutes longer. Beat in the coconut oil and vanilla, then beat in the melted chocolate. (Alternatively, use a balloon whisk in place of the mixer.)
3. Add the aquafaba mixture to the almond flour mixture and gently fold together. Cover and refrigerate until the batter is chilled, about 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop up heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough, roll into a ball, and place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Gently press down on the dough with the damp palm of your hand to form disks about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle with sea salt and the reserved chopped chocolate to the top of each disk.

Bake until the cookies are puffed and look slightly dry, about 15 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with extra melted chocolate if you’re feeling fancy.