Meringue Cookies with Bittersweet Chocolate and Sea Salt

Meringue Cookies with Bittersweet Chocolate and Sea Salt

• • 2 egg whites (let sit at room temperature for 1 hour)

  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

  • 1/4 teaspoon flavoring (almond, vanilla or peppermint extract are good options)

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 2 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate

  • pinch of coarse sea salt

Preheat the oven to 200 F. Line 2 baking sheets with silpat liners or parchment paper. The meringue is very sticky, so you must use silpats or parchment.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and extract and beat until soft peaks form. Continue beating on medium to medium-high as you gradually sprinkle in the sugar. Whip the egg whites until stiff and glossy and they easily hold their shape. The meringue will be very sticky. (If you pipe them onto the baking sheet and they spread out or lose their shape, then they have not been whipped long enough.)

Scoop the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe the meringue into various shapes, as big or as small as you like, about 1 inch apart. They won't spread during baking, so they can be fairly close together.

Bake for 2 hours, rotating the pans halfway through. After two hours, turn the oven off, crack the oven door open and let the cookies sit in the warm air until they are thoroughly dry. (Note, if you bake these on a humid or rainy day, they may not dry out and will end up sticky.)

Set cookies on a wire rack to cool, then melt the chocolate and dip or drizzle it over the cookies, finishing them with a sprinkling of sea salt. Let sit for an hour at room temperature until the chocolate sets, before serving.

Yields anywhere from 30-50 cookies.

Weight Watchers Points Plus Value: 4 points for 1/4 of the batch (16 points for the entire batch of cookies)

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen