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March 2, 2011

Dark Chocolate Meringue Cookies

I am in love with a healthy treat and can’t wait any longer to share them with you.  Okay, I’m guessing you’ve heard of and probably tasted meringue cookies.  I made these recently when I had one little egg white that I didn’t want to waste.  I did a quick ing

2 min read

I am in love with a healthy treat and can’t wait any longer to share them with you.  Okay, I’m guessing you’ve heard of and probably tasted meringue cookies.  I made these recently when I had one little egg white that I didn’t want to waste.  I did a quick ingredient search on Allrecipes and found these cookies.

These are a perfect little touch of chocolate, sweet and protein as I’m trying to be careful with the things I eat right now.  There is no fat (okay, a little tiny bit in the chocolate coating—but it’s good, dark bittersweet chocolate, so it’s not bad!).  These have just a little sugar and protein from egg whites.  That’s it.  But they make for the perfect bite of crunch with a little chew and CHOCOLATE!  I would make these for any other occasion, not just because they are healthy.  They are great plain and/or dipped in chocolate.  I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa, which I also think added to the extra chocolaty goodness.

Dark Chocolate Meringue Cookies, by Katrina, Baking and Boys! (adapted from Allrecipes)

1 egg white

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon dark cocoa

1 ounce dark chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon shortening

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Sift the cocoa in a small fine mesh sieve so it has no lumps.  Set aside.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Set aside.

With an electric hand mixer, beat egg white and vanilla until soft peaks form (1 egg is not enough for a stand mixer to work—but this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled and then a stand mixer would be great!).  Gradually add the sugar while beating the egg white until stiff peaks form.   Fold in the cocoa until thoroughly combined.  Put the mixture in a piping bag (or even just drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the baking sheet), and pipe onto the baking sheet, using the star tip.  Make the cookies only about 1 inch in diameter.  They can be spaced pretty close together as they don’t spread. 

Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and leave cookies on sheet to cool.  Melt the dark chocolate in a microwave safe dish in 15 second intervals.  When melted, stir in the shortening.  Dip half of each cookie in the chocolate and set on a wax paper lined plate.  Chill until chocolate is hardened.  Try not to eat them all in one sitting. ;) This small batch makes about 18.

  

Plain—good!  I plan to even make some that are just vanilla, and maybe even with other flavorings and colors.  How fun would a plateful be with some pink, blue, green, white, chocolate, etc.  I am in love with these.  Just making sure I got that point across. ;)

Archived comments (33)
Cookin' CanuckThose are gorgeous, Katrinas. I love making meringues, but have never made an all-chocolate version.
nancy@skinnykitchen.comMeringues are the best for a little treat. I love how yours look dipped in heart healthy dark chocolate. Yum!
KatrinaAnon--if I was to double this recipe, I'd use two egg whites, 2 teaspoons of shortening, etc., same with tripling, 3 egg whites, etc. This is a pretty easy one to double or triple.
Barbara @ Modern Comfort FoodOoh la la, Katrina. Who can resist these devilishly chocolaty cookies? Not I!
AnonymousThey look delicious, Katrina. I've never made chocolate meringues, but trust you to add a chocolate spin on everything :)
ShelbyThese look so good! I love meringue cookies!
AnonymousOooooh Katrina! These look so good. I've not seen anthing like them before. Love something new!!!
Nutmeg NannyThese look great! I have never made meringue cookies before but I can imagine them being totally scrumptious :)
JenniferI love meringue cookies! So good. Yours have perfect little peaks on them, too. Mine usually just end up like little blobs, luckily they are tasty little blobs!
Deeba PABJust love the look of these babies Katrina...delightful!
ElianaThey look delicious Katrina. Love that they are half dipped in chocolate.
AnonymousI've never tried chocolate meringues, but these look really good! Plus, I always have a huge stash of egg whites in my freezer so I'm constantly looking for ways to use them.
MichelleOH MY.....simply gorgeous cookies! Love the chocolate curl on the top!
ValerieThese look totally perfect! I make mint or raspberry ones with mini chocolate chips, but these look way more decadent.
Mary @Delightful BitefulsWOW! These sounds and look silly delicious! Bookmarked!! Great blog; happy I found you! Mary xo Delightful Bitefuls
LisaKatrina, thanks so much for choosing me, along with the amazing other winners, to win the peanut butter. I was dying for this competition to come back, especially after making that entremet..had to milk it for all it was worth..lol That said, yummy chocolate meringues, love that they're chocolate dipped too. The warm, melted chocolate doesn't affect the delicate nature of the meringue at all?
LisaMmm, I used to eat meringue cookies all the time. Maybe you should make chocolate chip ones or chocolate ones with mint chips.
Jannettthese sound really good. I have not had chocolate meringue cookies.. :o0
AnonymousI made these last night - absolutely delicious! I followed your excellent instructions to a "T" and got perfect results. The only change I made was I didn't have shortening so I substituted 1/2 tsp of ghee - which worked wonderfully! -A skinny chocolate-lover in NY
Tiathe insides look sooo good! great job katrina!
AnonymousI'd love to know how you'd change the measurements for each item when you use double or triple eggs. What about the shortening? Do you do the same doubling to all ingredients?
shamanaccountThe sight of this sinful looking cookies is enough for ma crave and bake some. Never tried chocolates meringue style and this would be an epic discovery. Thanks for the post.
Lisa ErnstThese look incredibly good. I'm not a meringue fan but could possibly be convinced otherwise if these taste as good as they look (and I'm pretty sure they do).
AmandaThese look really fabulous Katrina! i haven't made meringues in years.
JenI cannot wait to try these! I've only recently discovered the joy of meringue cookies, and I love chocolate, so it's hard to go wrong.
MeganI've made chocolate chip meringue but never chocolate meringue. And dipping them in chocolate is just that much better!
NinaI modified a bit the recipe, so if you add the optional cocoa nibs to the batter, the flavor-texture combination will be even more interesting and complex.
HindyNow I know what to do with all my leftover egg whites. Great recipe suggestion!
TrishaThey look lovely ... have never tried chocolate ones, will have to make them sometime!!!!
scrambledhenfruitWhat a lovely treat! I love that they're practically fat free- and chocolate is good for you! :)
Baking RibbonsI've never had meringue cookies. These look yummy. Plus kind of healthy!
FallonThey are delicious cookies. I remember when I was younger, we would buy the bucket of meringues at Trader Joe's. By the time we got home, maybe just a few were left. They melt in your mouth because they are so light.
Anonymousi have been meaning to make meringues for so long! seem like such a good option to have around the house for when i want something sweet :)

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