Chocolate Chewy Meringue Cookies

Oh my goodness! Just wait .................
..................until you take one bite of these incredibly delicious cookies; super simple, crackly and crispy on the outside, chewy, fudgy, melt-in-your-mouth on the inside and light-as-a-feather cookies. Just one bite, and I have a feeling you'll be smitten just like I am!

My sweet sister and chef extraordinaire, Annie, sent me this recipe a few months ago. The cookies sounded good but ............... come on, a cookie with no flour and no butter? Could it really be that good? Well, doubting Thomas (herself) is here to tell you, they're not just good .............. they're insanely good! Try them, today - they won't take long to throw together, they'll dirty only one bowl, they  have a short ingredient list and, ......... well, let's just say that if you're a chocolate lover, these very well may become one of your most beloved recipes!

Annie says "These are by no means a “health” food (yet they have no white flour) and even though we are eating leaner these days, we do need a treat every now and then. They sell these at Whole Foods, but they are so expensive….. SO…… I made them! I use half DARK Hershey cocoa powder and half regular Hershey’s."



Chocolate Chewy Meringue Cookies

Ingredients:
3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 ½ cups chocolate chips ( I like to use a bit more)
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
optional delicious ingredients; dried cranberries or dried cherries

Directions:
1. Position 2 racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat oven to 350˚F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Mix sugar, cocoa, and salt in a bowl. Stir in chocolate chips. Add egg whites and vanilla; beat with a fork or electric mixer on medium until batter is just moistened. (Do not overbeat batter or it will stiffen.)

3. Drop batter by teaspoonful onto baking sheets in evenly spaced mounds. Bake cookies until tops are lightly cracked and glossy, about 15 minutes. Cool briefly, then carefully remove from parchment paper with a spatula*. Cookies may be soft and fragile, so proceed carefully to lift cookies and place them on racks to cool. Do not wait too long to remove them from baking sheets, for they will stick, even to parchment paper. Repeat with remaining batter. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Notes:

~ I found that slightly rounded teaspoons of batter work best. I tried making bigger ones and they did not bake as nicely. Also, make sure to leave plenty of room around each one as they will spread - a lot!

~ When I made these cookies I found, through trial and error, that if I lightly buttered the parchment paper, then left the cookies right on the paper till they were cool, there was no problem removing them.

~ I tried them with 2 cups of chocolate chips and a cup of roughly chopped dried cherries - fabulous! 

~ I also tried them with 2 cups of chocolate chips and 1 cup of toffee bits, even better!! :)

Adapted from Year Twenty Seven

PRINTABLE RECIPE