Chewy Chocolate Meringue Cookies

I found this recipe in Parade Magazine.  It sounded good, so I decided to try it.  I modified it to fit what I happened to have in my pantry.

 

Chewy Chocolate Meringue Cookies

4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
12 oz. baking chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, plus walnut halves for garnish
1/3 cup chopped Craisins

 

I had some semisweet, unsweetened and bittersweet chocolate left over from other baking projects.  I didn't have quite the 12 ounces needed, so I added some dark chocolate chips to make up the difference.  Once melted and swirled together it made a slightly dark chocolate addition to the cookies.  Use dark or semisweet chocolate, depending on your preference.

 

Melt the chocolate first and then get everything else ready so that it can cool sufficiently to be added to the egg whites.

 

Preheat the oven to 325°.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

 

Place the egg whites, lemon juice, vanilla and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. 

 

Whisk until the mixture becomes foamy and gradually add the sugar while still beating.  Beat until stiff peaks form.

 

If the chocolate has cooled, you can fold it, the chopped nuts and Craisins, gently into the egg mixture. 

 

When the chocolate has been incorporated and there are no more swirls of white, scrape half the mixture into a large Ziploc bag with the end snipped off. ( I have a whole box full of Wilton tips and pastry bags and never once thought to use it.  But feel free to do that with a medium round tip.)

Pipe 2 inch cookies onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Carefully fold down and refill the Ziploc bag with the remaining batter and pipe on to the prepared sheets.  You can use a clean bag if you don't want to get cookie goop on your hands..

 

Top the cookies with walnut halves and press slightly.  I didn't buy the pricey walnut halves and just  used bigger pieces from my giant bag of walnuts.  I left some NAKED. :-O

Bake for 15 minutes or until the outside it set and dry.  Cool on the pans and then they can be peeled off the parchment to eat or store in an airtight container.

 

These cookies were chewy and delicious and if you didn't know it, it would be hard to tell that they had fruit in them.  I liked the ones with a nut on top and without, so I guess you can decide how to dress up these cookies! 

You might even dust the nutless ones with powdered sugar just before serving.  If you want to be FANCY!

Peppermint Meringues

I recently made some peppermint ice cream.  The ice cream base called for 6 egg yolks.  I was tired of throwing away egg whites.  Imagine the poor chickens giving birth EVERY DAY.  Ouch.  Respect the egg!  I saved the egg whites, covered in the refrigerator and then placed them on the counter to come to room temperature.  I learned during my macaron baking stage that egg whites left overnight in the refrigerator and then brought to room temperature whip up into stiff peaks the best.  So ice cream one day ( or crème brulee, flan or other custard ) and meringue cookies the next!

I had 6 egg whites left over so I doubled the recipe.  I will give you the original recipe in case you don't want an entire pantry full of meringues!  If you are taking these to a party, go ahead and double.  It will all fit in your stand mixer.  I used a Kitchen Aid. 

Peppermint Meringues

3 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar   you will find this with the herbs and spices
dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
3/4 cup sugar
red food color, optional

 

Preheat the oven to 225°. 

 

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  It likes to curl up so I placed objects on the parchment to hold it until I started piping the meringues.  Set aside.

 

Place the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, peppermint extract and food color, if you decide to use it, in the bowl of a stand mixer.  I used 3 drops for a very pale pink.  Beat until soft peaks form. 

 

Slowly add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time while it is mixing.  Then continue to mix until very stiff peaks form.

 

Fill a pastry bag ( or Ziploc bag with the corner cut off ) fitted with a star tip.  Pipe stars onto the parchment paper.  I had so much meringue that I made bigger cookies and still ran out of room on the two sheets. 

 

I decided to experiment with a Silpat sheet.  They are reusable, fit the pan and never curl up on the corners.  I wanted to know how they would work with meringues and now was my chance.  

 

So I filled a pan with smaller stars and baked them in a 225° oven, also.

Bake for 90 minutes.  Make sure they do not brown.  After they cool for a few minutes, they may be gently lifted off and placed on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Allow to cool completely and serve.

 

These cookies are light and airy with a hint of peppermint.  They are pretty and NON FAT.  So have two...or three.

 

Or, you know, five, if they are small. 

If you are interested, the Silpats worked okay for the meringues.  The bottoms were smoother on the meringues baked on parchment paper.  The Silpat was faster to use, but then I had to wash it.  Personal choice.