After making Nadia G’s heart-stopping Chocolate Cheese Brownies I wanted to try making a more heart-friendly dessert for Valentine’s Day. I love meringues but have never made chocolate ones before so I thought they would make a great low fat chocolatey treat for that special someone.
After making Bobby Flay’s egg yolk-ladden cinnamon crunch ice cream I had all these egg whites to use up. I put four room temperature egg whites in a mixer and beat them until frothy. Then I added 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar and a pinch of salt.
I added 3/4 cup of sugar one tablespoon at a time, giving it time for the sugar to dissolve into the egg whites without deflating them. Then, to make them more marshmallow-y, I added 1/2 tsp of cornstarch. I think next time I will add 1 tsp because they were still a little too crunchy for me.
Beat in 1 tsp of vanilla.
You want to keep beating until the egg whites get nice and smooth and hold their shape. So pretty! There was a big storm coming the day I made these which is bad timing. You want to attempt to make meringues when you have a nice clear day but I think because it is so dry here in the winter, I got away with it, hehe.
I quickly whisked in 4 tbsp of pre-sifted cocoa powder and then used a spatula to make sure everything was combined.
I used my mini ice cream scoop to divvy out two globs of chocolate meringue onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Using a palette knife I brought the meringue from the top corners to a point in the middle to create a heart-shaped cookie. I only did a few of these before it got too tedious. Then I just used a big ice cream scoop to make round chocolate puffs. No, I am not the most patient foodie in the world.
I put them in a preheated 200F oven for two hours. I put the trays on a cooling rack and let sit for a while before eating.
I told Reg I thought they tasted like crunchy chocolate pudding! Very crispy and quite delicious, you can give these too your sweetie without putting his or her heart in danger.
Low in fat, chocolatey and kind of fun, I think these make a terrific gift for anyone’s sweetie.
They look adorable!
Oh so pretty and oh so addictive! Is it still considered healthy if you eat the entire batch? lol….Whenever I make meringues here they just disappear too fast.
Those look great! I’ve been loving homemade meringue’s since I made your meringue ghosts : )