Fudgy meringues with a crispy, melt in your mouth shell will have you attending “Meringues Anonymous” if you’re not careful!

How can four little ingredients be so good together? The combination of the crispy exterior and the moist chocolate middle sans flour resulted in an entire batch of fifteen cookies disappearing in just over 24 hours. I wish I could tell you we had guests…

Although airy and relatively low on calories compared to most confections, these meringues did not come about due to New Year’s self-promises centered around slimmer waistlines. The ignoble truth is that after creating crème brûlée, another custard dish and any number of ice creams, we had on hand countless extra egg whites and, according to Jack, “egg whites, fish and beer are three items that can be consumed without fear of weight gain.”

These meringues are quick and easy to make but do require an overnight stay in the oven to finish drying  in order to create that crispy exterior.

Fudgy Chocolate Meringues

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp dutch processed cocoa
• 1/2 cup smashed chocolate chips (Place chips in a Ziploc bag and smash with a meat tenderizer)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Place egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
3. Place bowl on top of pot of simmering water, for a double boiler effect.
4. Whisk eggs and sugar for a couple of minutes until sugar is just dissolved.
5. Place bowl back on stand mixer. Mix on high speed until eggs are thick and glossy and hold soft peaks.
6. Sift cocoa onto egg mixture.
7. Mix on high speed until cocoa is just incorporated.
8. Fold smashed chocolate chips into egg whites.
9. Use a cookie scoop to drop batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
10. Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Cookies should puff up and may crack.
11. Remove cookies and leave oven door open to cool down.
12. Place cookies back in oven, close oven door and let cookies sit overnight.
13. The next day, cookies will be cooled completely and can be easily removed from parchment paper. Store in airtight container.