Chocolate Meringues

I love meringues.

They're easy to make, require ingredients I always have on hand and best of all, they're something I can make and eat without much guilt.

A welcome experience around here, let me tell you.

In fact, I'll calculate and share the nutritional information for these cookies. The whole batch should contain less than 880 calories, less than a gram of fat and makes roughly 50-60 cookies. Meaning each cookie is roughly 15 calories, virtually fat free and packs a big chocolate flavor into a little cookie package. Win!

These are probably the lightest treat to make it onto my blog but sadly, I had to find a way to make them a little less reasonable. At the last moment I compulsively decided to sandwich the light crisp cookies with a little melted chocolate. Woops...



Chocolate Meringues
from Cookies
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
pinch cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa (I recommend using extra dark cocoa)

Preheat your oven to 175°F.

Prep a pastry bag with a large star tip (like an Ateco 825) or if piping bags are not your style, cut a half-inch in diameter opening in the corner of a zip top bag. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.

Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter (you can omit the cream of tartar if using a copper bowl) in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly over the water until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch (roughly 3-4 minutes). Then remove from heat and beat the whites with a hand mixer or your stand mixer, starting on low speed and gradually increasing until stiff, glossy peaks form. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

Sift the cocoa over the meringue to break up any lumps and then fold until no streaks remain. Add the mixture to your pastry bag and pipe rows of quarter sized meringues onto the pans.

Bake for 2 hours, until they lift from the pan easily. Allow to cool completely.

To sandwich, melt a few ounces of your favorite chocolate and fill a zip top bag. Cut a small opening and pipe small blobs of chocolate onto each cookie. Given their awkward shape, this is best done with the meringues upside down on a baking rack. Allow the chocolate to cool for about 10 minutes and then top with a second cookie. Allow the filled cookies to sit for a couple hours or until the chocolate has set completely and then store in an air tight container for up to two days.

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