Meringues

I have fond memories of meringues. I remember my mother whipping (ha) them up around Pesach time as a kid, biting, for the very first time, into a crispy cloud and discovering centers of chewy, melt-in-your-mouth sugariness. Fast forward to now-I owe the making of these cookies to my sister, Leiat. I had a surplus of egg whites after making sugar kichel (for another post!) and she asked me to make them. Now, I've made these simple cookies before and never felt the need to blog about them, but I used a technique for them that I've never used before so I decided to share it. This basic recipe comes from Al HaShulchan's first Chocolate book (which has finally returned with me to Israel!). The egg whites and sugar are first heated and then beaten. This step is no stranger to people who make buttercreams all the time, but I am not one of those people. This makes THE glossiest and most luscious meringue I have ever worked with. Pain in the neck or not, I will be making them this way from now on! Now, if you think there's too much sugar and the mixture will never form stiff peaks, fear not and beat on. It works! The original calls for grated milk chocolate, but keeping things parve, I decided to fold in some mini dark chocolate chips instead. Be sure to leave these in the oven to dry out fully. I took them out after 45 minutes but they were still wet inside. I returned them to the oven and let them cook a bit more and then turned the oven off to allow them to dry. And just so you know: the oven makes a great hiding spot for these if you need. No one ever thinks to look there!

Meringues
adapted from Chocolate

150 grams egg whites
300 grams sugar
handful mini chocolate chips

Place the egg whites and sugar in a large bowl.

Place over a double boiler and whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the mixer is warm to the touch.

Beat at high speed with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.

Very stiff peaks.

Preheat the oven to 250. Line baking sheets with parchment. Using two spoons, dollop spoonfuls of meringue  onto the parchment and using the back of one spoon, form a swirl in the tops.

If you feel like it, toss in some mini chocolate chips into half the meringue,

and fold mix.

Repeat procedure.

Bake for about 50 minutes, until they are dry to the touch and come off the sheet easily.

Leave them in the oven to dry out as long as possible. Enjoy!