Chocolate Chip Meringues

So last week when I made bourbon vanilla ice cream, I had 7 left over egg whites. I asked Instagram what to do with them, and 4 different people told me I had to make Smitten Kitchen’s chocolate chip meringues. With that much independent support, I obviously looked them up.

You guys. These only needed two egg whites. How was that supposed to solve my problem. There wasn’t a world in which I should be making 3.5 batches of meringues.

Fortunately, I love egg tacos, and egg whites did fine for those this week. I saved two, and here we are.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy.

Add the salt, cream of tartar and vanilla extract. Beat until soft peaks form.

With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar, and keep beating until stiff peaks form.

Fold in the chocolate. I just used what I had in my pantry – some mini chocolate chips, some chocolate chunks that I blitzed in my mini food processor for a couple of pulses.

Spoon the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart.

Bake at 300°F for 25 minutes, or until dry on top and golden towards the bottom.

These are super delicate, so I’d let them cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring to an airtight container.

There was also a battle on my Instagram (@smilesbymeg if you don’t follow yet) over whether these were cookies or dessert. I personally think they’re cookies, while Madison thought they were dessert. I think Michelle had the best rationale, though – dessert is the category you’d use to describe something you’d order at a sit down restaurant. These are not in that category, and are therefore cookies.

I also ended up liking these a lot more than I expected. They turned out as basically chocolate bars surrounded by meringue, which is a great result.

Thanks, all for the recommendation!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Meringues

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 ounces mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until foamy.
2. Add salt, cream of tartar and vanilla extract. Continue to beat until soft peaks form.
3. With the mixer running, beat in sugar slowly until stiff peaks form.
4. Fold in chocolate with a rubber spatula.
5. Spoon batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake at 300°F for 25 minutes, until tops are dry and bottoms are golden. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet.