Spikey chocolate things! -Bernard Huang-
Chocolate meringue kisses.
-Martha Stewart-
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
pinch cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa
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Preheat your oven to 175F
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Prep a pastry bag with a large star tip and line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
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Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. You can omit the cream of tartar if using a copper bowl.
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Whisk constantly over the water until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch. Around 3-4 minutes.
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Then remove from heat and beat the whites with a hand mixer or stand mixer, starting on low speed and gradually increasing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
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Add vanilla and mix to combine.
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Sift cocoa over the meringue and fold until no streaks remain.
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Add mixture to your pastry bag and pipe rows of quarter sized meringues onto the pans.
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Bake for 2 hours, until they lift from the pan easily. Allow to cool completely.
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Enjoy as is or melt a little chocolate and make meringue sandwiches 🙂
Baking for 2 hours sounds crazy but the results are amazing. Light and crunchy chocholatey goodness. The way the meringue holds up on itself makes it super easy to pipe onto the parchment paper, not like macaroons that make me fret as I see them slowly spread out to my dismay. I clock around a whole sheet (10 rows) under a minute. However rate of consumption is far faster than rate of production. I had to make several batches of these. And I must warn… beware of sneaky fingers in the kitchen. I had my back turned for a couple of minutes and the boyfriend cleaned off a whole row. I thus hid the rest of the kisses in the pantry and still caught him sneaking off with them.
Store them well, that is if there’s any leftovers. They are super susceptible to humidity so you’ll end up with a sticky mess if you don’t package them in a airtight bag/container or if you leave them out in the sun. However, if this does happen just pop them in the fridge for a couple of hours and they should be back to their crunchy state.
Enjoy with caution.. I’ve gotten some crazy feedback. Anywhere from “oreos on steroids” [Bernard] to “having an orgasm” [receptionist where Hoan works].
Lovely boxes that the boyfriend got for me. I can now deliver my baked goods professionally 🙂
