Mocha Meringues

P.S. The pretty ones are from the first batch. The weird flat one is from the second batch, after the meringue slightly deflated. Eh, such is life.

I ate about twelve of these today.

But hey, they're basically fat-free. Just egg whites and sugar, couldn't be easier.

A low oven temp for a long time is easy on the electric bill and doesn't heat up the house too bad.
And screw whoever said you can't make meringue when it's humid. You totally can, just so long as you manage those expectations about how light and crispy they'll be. They'll be chewy and unctous, but also light. Probably not crispy, especially after a day or two.

Air pumped into egg whites that have been sweetened.
Let's not do the styrofoam-y chalky supermarket-y junk.

I decided on mocha flavorings because there was a recipe for espresso meringues and one for chocolate chip meringues, and coffee totally makes things extra chocolate-y.

I'm totally not a chocolate mint girl. Or a chocolate orange girl. Or a chocolate raspberry, or a chocolate almond, or a chocolate anything.
Except chocolate and peanut butter and chocolate and coffee.

So, taste preferences being what they were, espresso powder it was! And chopped up chocolate chips. And the 6 egg whites that were left over from the yolk-deliciousness that is peach tart.

Mocha Meringues
Yield: 36 cookies

Ingredients:

6 egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 grams) granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons espresso powder
3 ounces chocolate, chopped finely

(alternately, and what is given in the cookbook, you could do 4 egg whites, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon vanilla, 2 teaspoons espresso, and 2 ounces chocolate to yield about 2 dozen)


Method:

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 225 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment (very important in terms of how the cookie "grabs" the pan).
2. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and espresso in small bowl.
3. In stand mixer with whisk attachment, whip egg whites, vanilla, and salt on high speed until very soft peaks form, 30-45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium and add in the sugar mixture gradually, scrape bowl, then bump up the speed to high again until glossy and stiff peaks form, 30-45 seconds.
4. Fold in the chopped chocolate and put meringue into pastry bag or zip-loc bag (snip corner to make a make-shift pastry bag) and pipe mounds onto baking sheets.
5. Bake 1 hour, switching/rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cool in oven (turn it off and leave them in) for at least 1 hour (We skipped this step. They were moist and chewy inside, delicious, not at all crisp, though). Keep in airtight container

From The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook