Chocolate Meringue Cookies

Photo courtesy of EpicCuriousLife, recipe by Milk Street

Sometimes at the urban farm and garden, only chocolate will do for my hubby, Bernard.

We have been experiencing Shelter in Place in the Bay Area due to COVID19 – a sad time, but also a time to focus on things we have been putting off doing…so, you guessed it, I got to baking!

I wanted to make a cookie that was gluten free without compromising texture and flavor. This recipe is from Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street and is a very easy recipe and I have shared some options at the end to provide some variety. One unique step for this cookie is the heating of the egg whites with the sugar prior to whipping to soft peaks.

Let’s do this!

Here’s what you will need:

• 8 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped and divided (see below)

• 4 Tbl (½ stick) salted Butter, cut into 4 pieces

• ¼ cup Cocoa Powder

• ½ tsp instant Espresso Powder

• 3 large Egg, whites separated

• 2/3 cup packed light Brown Sugar

• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

• ½ tsp Kosher Salt

Let’s get baking:

• Heat the oven to 350°F with racks in the upper- and lower-middle positions.

• Line 2 baking sheets with kitchen parchment.

• Measure out 2½ ounces (½ cup) of the chopped chocolate and set aside.

• In a medium sauce pan over high, bring 1 inch of water to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer.

• In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 5½ ounces chopped chocolate, the butter, cocoa and espresso powder.

• Set the bowl on the saucepan over the simmering water (the bottom of bowl should not touch the water) and let the mixture melt until completely smooth, stirring often with a silicone spatula.

• Set aside to cool slightly; keep the saucepan and water over the heat.

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, vanilla and salt.

• Set the bowl on the saucepan over the simmering water and, while whisking constantly, heat the mixture to 100°F.

• Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium-high until the mixture holds soft peaks when the whisk is lifted, 3 to 4 minutes.

• Using a silicone spatula, fold ⅓ of the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture until almost completely combined.

• Add the remaining egg whites and fold until a few streaks of white remain.

• Add the reserved chopped chocolate and fold gently until no white streaks remain.

• Drop the batter in 2-tablespoon mounds spaced 1½ inches apart on the prepared sheets.

• Bake until the tops have cracked but the interiors still looks moist, 12 to 14 minutes, switching and rotating the sheets halfway through.

• Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Tip: Don’t omit the step of heating the egg whites and sugar over the saucepan of simmering water. This ensures the sugar fully dissolves so the cookies bake up with shiny, crisp exteriors. But also make sure you don't overheat the mixture (100°F is the ideal temperature), which can cause the whites to cook. Also, the melted chocolate mixture should still be warm when you fold in the whipped egg whites. If it has cooled and thickened, it will be impossible to fold in the whites without deflating them. If needed, before folding in the whites, return the bowl of chocolate to the saucepan and re-melt the mixture.

Notes:

• You can add some chopped nuts with the chopped chocolate (do ¼ cup chocolate and ¼ cup nuts instead of ½ cup chocolate).

• Sprinkle tops of cookies with flaky sea salt upon taking cookies out of the oven – this will add a nice crunch and pop that complements the dark chocolate.

• Cookies can be stored in an air tight container for a week … however, in our home, these will be gone way before then!

Enjoy!