These Chocolate Sambuca Cookies are a new recipe that I just converted to gluten free. The original recipe was published in Gourmet magazine in January 1995. I could not find it on the Epicurious website to link to though. A reader of Gourmet had written in to request the recipe for this cookie which was served at a Boston restaurant called Mirabelle.
This cookie tastes great and looks beautiful too. It would be a great addition to any mixed cookie plate. The Sambuca flavor is not too strong because there is only 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of it in the recipe.
I am so happy with this recipe that I am going to try to make it with other kinds of liquors- everything tastes good with chocolate, right?
I’m thinking about Frangelico, Agavero (made from Tequila), Kahlua, etc.
I am even wondering about using Port wine- sounds good to me!
Update on using other liquors:
I tried all 4 ideas that I mentioned in the last paragraph (I split 2 batches of dough into 2). Everything ended up tasting too sweet- the Sambuca really is the best choice so far. I do want to try another Mexican coffee liquor that we have that is called XO Cafe- it is made by Patron tequila and has tequila in it. It is not as sweet as Kahlua and it has a more intense coffee flavor.
I also want to come up with a version that is rolled in coconut- I am thinking about using dark rum as the liquor for that one.
I will keep you posted with any new positive developements!
This recipe was a natural to convert to gluten free because it only has 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour. It also has 1 cup of almonds that are ground fine. I used Trader Joes almond meal and they turned out great the first time I made them.
I am still brainstorming here- what if you used ground macadamia nuts and then added Malibu Rum? Mmm- could be good!
These cookies are rolled into a ball then rolled first in granulated sugar, then in powdered sugar. I think the granulated sugar might seal the cookie so that the powdered sugar stays on the outside and doesn’t disappear into the cookie. I did reduce the amount of sugar that the original recipe said to roll the cookies in- they said 1/2 cup each of granulated and powdered sugar and I only used 1/4 cup of each. It was perfect that way.
I shared this recipe with Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Fantabulous Friday at Mommas Kinda Crafty, Everything But The Kitchen Sink at A Little Knick Knack, Food On Friday at Ann Kroeker, Gluten Free Wednesdays at The Gluten Free Homemaker
Chocolate Sambuca Cookies
Melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave at 50% power until just melted.
2 cups (12 oz) chocolate chips
1/2 stick (4 Tblsp) unsalted butter
In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 2 Tblsp GF Flour Mixture*
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup of almond meal (Trader Joe’s sells, or you can grind your own almonds)
In another bowl use mixer to blend eggs and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until just combined.
3 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Mix in chocolate mixture and
1/4 cup plus 2 Tblsp Sambuca (you could also substitute your choice of liquor)
Stir flour mixture into Sambuca/chocolate mixture.
Chill dough, covered for 4-5 hours until firm enough to work with.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover baking sheets with parchment paper.
Put 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in a bowl and put 1/4 cup of powdered sugar into another bowl.
Roll dough into small balls about the size of walnuts.
Coat with granulated sugar then coat with powdered sugar.
Place on parchment covered baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
Bake 2 sheets of cookies at a time for 11 minutes total, switching sheets from top to bottom midway through baking. Cookies should be puffed, cracked and just set.
Cool cookies on the sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to racks.
Makes about 50 cookies
*GF Flour Mixture
The GF flour mixture that I use is pretty standard. I use Authentic Foods gluten free flours because they are ground more finely than commercial brand GF flours that you can buy off the shelf. This results in wonderful baked goods that do not have that “gritty” feel when you chew them like so many products that we all tried in the beginning!
GF Flour Mixture
2 cups AF Superfine Brown Rice Flour (available in the amazon.com store on my blog)
2/3 cup AF Potato Starch Flour (available in my store)
1/3 cup AF Tapioca Flour (available in my store)
I make up several batches of this mixture at a time and keep it in a canister. I keep all of my other GF flours in the freezer.
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WoW! Looks delicious. I wonder if Baileys Irish cream would be good in these cookies?
I think Baileys would be great! I am baking more different flavors of this recipe today- Kahlua, Port Wine, Agavero (a tequila liquor) and Malibu Rum. I am going to roll the Malibu cookies in coconut. I will add my results to this post.
Wow, do those look fantastic! I’m passing along great gluten-free recipes to a friend of mine, and this looks like a keeper. We don’t aren’t celiac nor do we have allergies, so I might try to make the original version.
So glad you join us at Food on Fridays!
Thank you Ann! I experimented again with these cookies before Christmas and made them with 4 different liquors. I still like the original Sambuca best because it doesn’t add too much sweetness like the other liquors do. I made one with Kahlua and it was too sweet but I am going to try it one more time with another coffee liquor from Mexico called XO Cafe. It is not as sweet and has a more intense coffee flavor. The others I tried were Agavero tequila liquor, Port wine and Malibu rum. Everything else was too sweet. I would like to work on a coconut version too though- maybe with just a dark rum and rolled in coconut. I’m full of ideas!
Those sound fantastic! I love all the flavor experimentation you’re doing with these cookies.
Hi Supermom! Thanks for your comment! It’s my obsessive Virgo personality that pushes me to make different variations of recipes that I like! Hopefully it is a good trait in this case!
This cookie is new to me, but it sounds great. I love that you tried different versions, even if you decided to stick with the original.
Hi Linda! I was a little disappointed that I didn’t like the other variations more but I still have a few more ideas to play with!
These sound really yummy! Perfect for the holidays!
I’m featuring you this week for Friday Favorites! Come grab my featured button if you’d like one. Thanks for linking up! Hope you’ll link up again!
Thank you so much Jerri! I am having fun linking to everybody’s great blogs! My list is growing and I think I am up to 29 that I check in with and link to every week! I am going to create a page on my blog just to talk about everybody’s blogs that I link with. I will put everybody’s buttons up there to help promote them all.
Thanks again!
These look great! One question though, no Xanthan or Guar Gum for those GF grains?
Hi Lisa! I don’t use xanthan gum in a recipe unless there is more than 1- 1/2 cup of GF flour (usually). In this recipe my substitution was only 1/2 cup because the almond meal was part of the original recipe. Thanks for your question!
Holy cow! These cookies were to die for. My family gobbled them up as fast as they came out of the oven. We are always looking for new gluten free recipes, especially for desert. This recipe will definitely be going in the favorites pile!
Thank you Eric! I am so glad that you made these cookies and enjoyed them!