Swiss Chews {Flourless Chocolate Crinkle Cookies}

Classic Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (or Swiss Chews as Mom always called them) are crispy on the outside, fudgy on the inside, and perfect for the holidays!

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.

~ Charles Schultz

Crispy on the outside, fudgy on the inside, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are amazingly simple to make, and taste absolutely decadent: (I also have it on good authority that they are one of Santa’s favorite treats!)

^{This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.}

Back when I was small, every year around the first of December my mom would get together with her friend Betty and bake. Betty would always come up with a few new cookie ideas for them to try, but no matter what else they baked, the holy trinity of Christmas cookies at our house was Joe Froggers (a spicy, rum-infused molasses cookie), Chocolate Thumbprints, and Swiss Chews, more commonly known as Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

I always knew my mother’s chocolate crinkle cookies were better than anyone else’s, but for a long time, I didn’t know why. I guess I just supposed everyone thinks their mother’s cookies are the best.

It wasn’t until I started comparing chocolate crinkle cookies recipes that I figured out what made Mom’s cookies so unique. Unlike most recipes, Mom’s cookie recipe didn’t require any flour. It uses ground walnuts for structure instead – making these little sweethearts completely gluten-free. (You’re welcome, my gluten-free friends.)

Swiss Chews {Flourless Chocolate Crinkle Cookies} | The Good Hearted Woman

Chocolate Crinkle Cookie dough balls, rolled and ready for the oven

5 from 13 votes

Swiss Chews {Flourless Chocolate Crinkle Cookies}

Crispy on the outside, fudgy on the inside, and perfect for the holidays!

Course Cookies

Cuisine Yummy

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Refrigeration Time 2 hours

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 36

Calories 58 kcal

Author Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder optional
1 tsp kosher salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
3 eggs separated
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 - 3/4 cup powdered sugar for rolling prepared dough in

Instructions

Preheat oven to 340° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat.

Cookie Dough Prep

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks slightly. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse walnuts until they resemble cracked wheat. [Be careful - if you let them go too long, you'll have walnut butter!] Measure walnuts after chopping. Set aside.
Melt chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave for 40 seconds at a time, stirring after each cycle, until chocolate is completely melted. Allow to cool slightly.
Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. To the beaten egg whites, gradually add brown sugar mixture and then vanilla, beating until thick. Gently fold in walnuts and beaten egg yolks.
Fold the melted chocolate chocolate into the whipped egg-white mixture.
Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours, or overnight. [DO NOT attempt to make cookies until the dough is cold!]

Forming Cookies

Form 1" balls of dough using a small cookie scoop or spoon. (About 2 teaspoons per cookie.) A small cookie scoop works perfect for this.
Pour 1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar into a shallow bowl or plate. Rolls cookie dough balls in powdered sugar. Place cookie balls on prepared cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. (You do not need to press the cookie balls down.)
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. (If you make your cookies larger, you may need to bake them for an addition 2-3 minutes.) Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Recipe Notes

Walnuts should be chopped very fine, but not beyond recognition - about the same consistency as cracked wheat.

Swiss Chews are free of added fats. No oil. No butter. (Trust me on this: they don’t need it.) Which brings me to this little extra holiday bonus: these deliciously fudgy bites of heaven have only about 58 calories per cookie! Can you believe it‽ Now you have no excuse: go make a batch or three today!

Thank you so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to Pin and Print this recipe!

P.S. I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup. Check it out for more great Christmas recipes!

^{Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!}

At the Corner of Music & Chocolate {Lillie Belle Farms}

November 2 By Renée ♥ 21 Comments

Lillie Belle Farms chocolates can be found at the unique crossroads of Music and Chocolate – and that is where the magic happens.

Tucked just off I-5 in the unassuming southern Oregon town of Central Point, you can find divine respite from the road in a luxurious trifecta of world-class cheese, wine, and chocolate. The Southern Oregon Artisan Corridor – aptly coined “a little stretch of heaven” – is a small grouping of distinct artisan shops that have formed a culinary alliance of sorts. Each shop offers on-site tastings, and they occasionally even collaborate on projects together. I have visited there not once, but twice in the last month, sampling prize-winning cheeses from Rogue Creamery, estate-grown wines from Ledger David Cellars, and hand-crafted chocolates from Lillie Belle Farms – all just steps from one another.

Today, however, it’s all about the Chocolate.

Lillie Belle Farms founder Jeff Shepherd abides at the unique crossroads of Music and Chocolate – and that is where the magic happens. Like an electric anthem, Jeff’s chocolates are a passionate, vibrant expression of his art.

We are savage Rock ‘N’ Roll fans at Lillie Belle! Having attended literally thousands of loud live shows and seen hundreds of bands both old and new, Rock ‘N’ Roll is an integral part of our creative process. You will always hear music pulsing out of our kitchen. In fact, it’s impossible to separate our chocolate life from our musical life.

~ Jeff Shepherd, Lillie Belle Farms

[Cue: Sugar Magnolia] 😉

The first time I visited Lillie Belle Farms {on a Travel Oregon press tour}, we arrived right at closing time, and Jeff was in the process of transforming himself from chocolate artisan and entrepreneur to band member and guitar player. Now, it might be helpful for me to note that, on this particular trip, most of my traveling companions were significantly younger than me and may have lacked the deep appreciation for the tie-dyed generation and all that we stand for. Jeff, on the other hand, falls approximately into my age demographic, and is every good thing you think of when you think Tie-Dyed Southern Oregon Musician + Chocolate. In other words, we kinda connected. I mean, what’s not to like about a guy who keeps a set of portable baffle boards in his chocolate kitchen so that he can set up for band practice at a moment’s notice? So while all the rest of my party sprinted across the parking lot to Ledger David for our prearranged wine-tasting, I lingered a few extra minutes at Lillie Belle, chatting with Jeff about his current inspirations and future plans; and while I can’t share everything we talked about at the moment, I can tell you that there is a lot to look forward to!

Just a few weeks after my first visit, I had the opportunity to stop at Lillie Belles again, this time with Mr B. We arrived on a Sunday morning just before the doors opened, and there was already a line waiting to get in! Nevertheless, Jeff greeted us warmly and gave us the full VIP treatment, including a tour of the inner sanctum – his kitchen/band practice space. He and Mr B talked band life and bantered about musical preferences and what songs they had covered. Jeff showed us the corner of the kitchen dedicated to Elvis, and his expansive wall of Grateful Dead covers, and his amazing custom traveling chocolate cart covered with backstage passes and concert tickets. (I can’t remember every one, but we visited the week Tom Petty died, so I do remember there being many, many passes for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.) By the end of our visit, I was practically ready to invite Jeff and his crew up north for dinner and an impromptu jam session. I’d even let him bring dessert. (hehehe 😉 )

(Want to learn more about Jeff and his “ecclectic mind bending and transformative chocolate madness”? Check out his very entertaining Lillie Belle Farms blog.)

But enough about Jeff. Let’s talk about his chocolates.

Lillie Belle Farms, named for Jeff’s wife Belle and daughter Lillie, now moves some 20,000 pounds of chocolate a year, in the form of handmade gourmet chocolate bars, decadent ganache-filled chocolates, liquor-infused chocolates, truffles, fresh berry cups, cherry cordials, and chocolates filled with handmade fondants, butter creams, caramels, and toasted nuts. They even have a Smokey Blue Cheese Truffle Spread; a collaboration with Rogue Creamery that combines an amazing, award-winning Smokey Blue Cheese, organic milk chocolate, and toasted almonds into a surprisingly satisfying spreadable tangy chocolate concoction.

Cheese and chocolate spread notwithstanding, one of the things I appreciated most about Lillie Belle Farms chocolates was the simplicity of the flavor profiles that they employ. What I mean is, lately I’ve been to some food events where I’ve sampled confections that intentionally challenge my palate with a confusing amalgamation of flavors that require me to do some serious cranial calisthenics as my brain tries to isolate and delineate each component. (Chili cilantro salted coffee cream, anyone?) Conversely, the overwhelming majority of Lillie Belle chocolates are single-flavored bites, allowing you to lean back and simply enjoy the experience as the cocoa flavanols rouse your brain and the velvety chocolate caresses your tongue.

{Tangentially, there is some science behind why that strange Blue Cheese ‘n Chocolate combo works, but in a nutshell, it’s apparently because they share at least 73 flavor compounds.}

After much consideration, Mr B and I took home a small fortune’s worth of luxury chocolates – every one a winner. Here are just a few of the standouts from our haul…

Recommendations & Notes:

Lavender caramels {Lavender infused caramels topped with Fleur de Sel salt}: So good. Just. So. Good.
Maker’s Mark Cups {Filled with pecan butter, dark chocolate and a Maker’s Mark whiskey ganache, and topped with a large caramelized pecan}: Mr B LOVED this one. I can’t tell you what I think about it because, he ate it up too fast.
Frangelico Cups {Dark Chocolate cup filled with a creamy, Frangelico infused mousse}: Light and sweet without being cloying, this was one of my favorites. Because Frangelico. And Chocolate. Oh my…
Raspberry Ganache {organically grown raspberries, infused in a dark chocolate ganache, covered with more dark chocolate and finished with a raspberry floral design}: Bright, clean raspberry flavor paired perfectly with a smooth dark chocolate.
Marionberry Bon Bon {organic Marionberry preserves encased in a dark chocolate shell}: Sublime. As far as I’m concerned, you just cannot beat Marionberries and dark chocolate together. Smooth, well-balanced, and deeply satisfying.

Chocolate doesn't ask silly questions. Chocolate Understands. Click To Tweet

You can find Lillie Belle Farms chocolates at Whole Foods, Made in Oregon stores, and Powell’s among other places; or you can order it online. Or do what we did and include it in your next trip to the Rogue River Valley. Lillie Belle Farms is open seven days a week in Central Point, just northwest of Medford on Highway 99.

Lillie Belle Farms
211 N. Front St.
Central Point, OR 97502
(541) 664-2815
1 (888) 899-2022

Shop Hours:
Monday to Friday: 9–5
Saturday: 9–6
Sunday: 11–5

Disclosure: My first trip to Lillie Belle Farms was as part of the #TrailsToFeast Travel Oregon press trip. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.

The Best of {Artisinful!} Chocolate & Beer Fest

February 2 By Renée ♥ 19 Comments

A recap of Artisinful! Chocolate & Beer Fest – including our choice for Best {Chocolate & Beer} Couple.

Last weekend, Mr. B and I had the pleasure of attending Artisinful! a festival celebrating local artisan crafted chocolates and beers, presented by Culmination Brewing in Portland. I’ll be taking on the chocolate side of things, and Mr. B will be telling you a little about the beers a few paragraphs down.

Before we get too far along, however, we should probably makes an distinction between a Chocolate Maker and a Chocolatier. If you plan on attending an event that involves both, it’s good to know the difference, because some of these artisans are a little finicky about how you refer to them. (Honestly, I don’t blame them a bit: both are proud of what they do, and deserve to be recognized for it.)

So what is the difference between a Chocolate Maker and a Chocolatier?

Glad you asked!

A Chocolate Maker is someone who roasts cacao beans, grinds them, and mixes them with sugar to make chocolate. Portland chocolate makers are fond of referring to themselves as “bean-to-bar” chocolate makers, and saying things like, “Our chocolate is made from fair trade, single farm-sourced beans from >a South American country near the equator<.”

Artisinful! Chocolate & Beer Fest included tastings from three Portland chocolate makers: Cleo, Wood Block, and our personal favorite – the silky, smooth stylings of master chocolate maker Brian Flick of Pitch Dark.

Interesting side-note about the local politics of chocolate making: As we were making the rounds, we stopped to listen to one of the chocolate makers talk about his product. In an effort to impress the gathered crowd, he made the emphatic claim that theirs was the only single-origin (single farm, collective, or varietal) chocolate made in Portland. Having had some previous education on Portland bean-to-bar chocolate, I waited until the crowd dispersed and then asked him if he knew that the Pitch Dark chocolate bars a few tables away were also made from single origin cacao beans. [Read my post on Pitch Dark.] Initially attempting to dispute my claim, he was soon stumbling over his words like Daffy Duck in a tongue-twister contest. (In all fairness, I’m not sure if this was an actual “chocolate maker,” or simply an employee sent to man the table. In any event, I guess the lesson here is that it’s probably good to get your facts straight when you’re presenting to a room full of informed Portland foodies.)

Anyway, back to the second half of the Chocolate Maker/ Chocolatier question: What’s a Chocolatier?

A Chocolatier is someone who takes the chocolate that a Chocolate Maker makes and creates those sweet chocolate confections – dipped and creamy, nutty and smooth – that make us close our eyes and breathe deep. Chocolatiers say things like, “Here, try this one next – it’s brand new,” and, “Try this one now – it’s fabulous!” and, “This one is my personal favorite – you have to try it!”

Just for you, Mr B and I sucked it up and forced ourselves to sample something from each and every Chocolatier at the event. After making at least two rounds of the Chocolate Hall (just to be sure) we narrowed our favorites to two: Missionary and Batch PDX.

Let’s start with Missionary Chocolates and their handcrafted gluten-free, vegan truffles. Missionary was our first stop in the Chocolate Hall, and it took all we had to walk away and make our way to the next table.

Missionary’s chocolates are smooth, sweet, and relatively solid on the tooth. Our favorite flavor as a stand-alone confection was their Blood Orange & Cardamom truffle: the combination of bold citrus and smoky cardamom was sublime. Other flavors that stood out to us were the Meyer Lemon Explosion (aptly named, I might add), and their exquisite Spicy Cinnamon Chipotle truffle.

Missionary Chocolates have an interesting history. They began in 2008 when Melissa Berry, a naturopathic physician, began making chocolates to give to her gluten-intolerant vegan mother. Made with organic coconut cream, fair-trade chocolate and local, seasonal, organic ingredients, they are lactose and gluten free, with no added sugars or preservatives. (Yes Portland, there is a chocolate faerie for each an every one of us!) Within months, Melissa had her own company, and her dairy-free truffles were taking first place at the Northwest Chocolate Festival.

Our other local favorite was Batch PDX. Watching Batch PDX founder Jeremy Karp work is an absolute pleasure, and knowing that he literally has a hand in making those beautiful chocolates adds some elusive ingredient to the mix. Jeremy has the perfect personality for a chocolatier, and he clearly loves what he does.

Jeremy is passionate about his chocolates, mixing new combinations in his mind long before chocolate ever meets heat, like a song-writer composing before his fingers ever strike a chord. My personal Batch favorite is the Spicy Passion with its classic combination of sweet and heat. Mr B was in heaven sampling Batch’s newest offering – a salted caramel truffle topped with a thin slice of candy-cap mushroom that delivered a sweet, smooth, earthy finish.

Honestly, comparing Batch and Missionary, we’d be hard-pressed to choose between the two. I would say that Batch’s chocolates are smoother and a bit softer in the middle than Missionary’s, and if size matters to you, it might be noted that Batch chocolates are definitely single serving size (about 3/4 to 1-inch across), while Missionary chocolates tend big enough to share with a friend… or two. Both have interesting, unique, well-balanced flavors with notes that change on the palate like wine as they flow across your tongue.

Beer Notes from Mr B

The Chocolate & Beer Festival featured eleven beers, one cider, and one mead. Each was chosen because it paired well with chocolate.

I tasted seven of the thirteen pours at the event, including:

Blackberry Habenero Sour {Culmination}, a lovely, spicy concoction that wasn’t quite as flavorful or aromatic as I anticipated.
Choco Mountain {Culmination}, a milk chocolate stout with a heavy cacao flavor; the result of being aged on cacao nibs.
Chocolate Chile Chupacabra {Old Town Brewing}, a tasty beer that would pair well with a savory dish.
Coco Pono Toasted Coconut Cream Ale {Pono Brewing/ Culmination Collaboration}, which will likely be a winner with the IPA-loving crowd, as it turned out to be far more hoppy than I expected from a cream ale.

I could go on and on about each beer we sampled, but instead I’m just going to get right to it. Not that I didn’t appreciate the rest of the beers, but when we are talking about Beer-with-Chocolate, one stood so far above the crowd that nothing else compared – and it wasn’t just because the brewmaster was six-foot something and wearing a kilt.

Dragon’s Gate Brewery, from Milton-Freewater, blew me away with their Belgium Chocolate Stout. This full-bodied brew has a rich, dark head and a flavor reminiscent of espresso laced with chocolate liqueur. It’s quite filling, so it’s not something you’re going to sit around and sip in the backyard on a hot summer day, but if you want a deep, dark, delicious mug of stout on a cold winter night, this is your beer.

Which leads me to our choice for Best Pairing at the Festival:

Missionary ♥ Spicy Cinnamon-Chipotle Truffle
Dragon’s Gate ♥ Le Morte d’Arthur Belgium Chocolate Stout

These two were made for each other. The spicy, smooth bite of the Cinnamon-Chipotle Truffle becomes a strong, sensual companion when paired with the heavy chocolate stout, each complementing and enhancing the other without overpowering, making for a perfect dessert combination.

Where can you find the aforementioned delectable treats?

Dragon’s Gate Brewery is just getting off the ground, and since they are based in eastern Oreogn, their beers are not yet available in the Portland area. Your next chance to try them in Portland will be at the 2016 Nano Beer Fest at John’s Marketplace in SW Portland, April 9-10.
Missionary Chocolates can be found online, at their retail store in Portland, and at specialty stores and food coops around the Portland area.

Disclosure: We received complimentary media passes to this event.

It’s Soda Time! {How to Make an Old-fashioned Chocolate Ice Cream Soda}

October 19 By Renée ♥ 19 Comments

You need just three ingredients to make a delicious old-fashioned chocolate ice cream soda – and a glass full of wonderful, bubbly memories to share.

^{Disclosure: We teamed up with Canada Dry for this post. All images and opinions are my own.}

My brother LA is sixteen years older than me and left for college when I was just two, so the only time I ever saw him when I was little was when he came home for holidays or spring break. Because of our age difference, it would have been easy for us to never have had any kind of real relationship, but LA didn’t let that happen. From the time I can remember, he has always made an effort to make a place for me in his life.

One way he did that was to establish a few simple traditions between us, the most enduring and dear to me being our Soda Time.

Whenever he came home, LA would always make us chocolate ice cream sodas. It was our thing. Soda Time was the one time I had my big brother all to myself, and as I grew up, it became a tradition that – to this day – I look forward to with great anticipation.

I’m pretty sure I drove my mom and dad nuts back when I was a kid, because whenever I caught wind that LA was on his way home, I’d make one of them go up to Freddy’s to get the Canada Dry, chocolate syrup, and ice cream so that we had everything we needed when he arrived.

LA always made a big, fun production of making our sodas, what with his special soda-mixing skills and spoon flourishes and all. He also taught me that you can’t just dump everything into a tall glass and call it good: making a perfect old-fashioned ice cream soda requires some finesse.

How to Make an Old-fashioned Ice Cream Soda

For each soda, you will need:

2-3 scoops vanilla ice cream
6-8 ounces Canada Dry Club Soda or Seltzer Water [Original flavor] (We prefer Club Soda)
2-3 tablespoons chocolate syrup

First, find a suitable vessel. A soda glass is perfect, of course, but if you’re short on those, you can use any large, tall glass. (You can even do what my brother and I do when we’re feeling lazy and make a soda-in-a-bowl.)
Next, drop one scoop of ice cream into the bottom of the glass and pour about 2-3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup on top.
Use a soda spoon to squish and mash and mix everything around until the ice cream and the chocolate syrup become a sort of chocolate ice cream slurry.
Now comes the tricky part: you need to take a soda spoon in your dominate hand and stir constantly while you very slowly pour club soda or seltzer water into the glass with your other hand. Continue adding seltzer until the glass is about three-fourths full.
Taste the soda to make sure it’s chocolaty enough for you. (If not, just stir in a little additional chocolate syrup.)
Finish it off by adding a scoop of ice cream to the soda glass, and mount an additional scoop to the rim, sidecar style.

Top it off with one last splash of club soda or seltzer water (I prefer club soda), pop in a straw and enjoy! We usually serve ours with extra club soda on the side so that we can make our sodas last as long as possible.)

For the record, LA has lived in Iowa for decades now and sometimes years pass without us getting together. However, whenever he visits, you can bet that I will have the chocolate syrup, ice cream and Canada Dry waiting for him.

Who will you share SODA TIME with?

Chocolate-Pineapple Meringue Kisses {Recipe}

August 18 By Renée ♥ 5 Comments

Light as air, these delicious little Meringue Kisses can hold a multitude of sweet surprises.

These little meringue kisses are incredibly simple and easy to make, and will satisfy any sweet tooth. Here, I’ve topped them with pineapple and chocolate, but you can let your imagination guide you. Other ideas include coconut, ground nuts, chopped dried fruit, a dusting of cinnamon and sugar, or candied ginger. Or sprinkle them with jimmies for the holidays – red, white and blue for the 4th of July, green for St Patrick’s Day, or yellow and orange for the fall holidays.

4 from 1 vote