Espresso-Chip
Meringues
Tips:
Light, crisp confections,
these are great for a "little something" with coffee or
a not-too-heavy dessert. Once baked, they'll keep for
a week or two at room temperature, if stored airtight.
Make sure that your oven can handle the low temperature
required here; some ovens balk at low temperatures (a
good oven thermometer is always a wise investment). Make
sure the bowl and beater(s) you'll use to beat the egg
whites are absolutely grease-free, and do not make these
meringues on a humid day.
- 2 tsp. instant espresso
powder
- 1 tsp. hot water
- 4 egg whites, from
eggs graded "large", at room temperature (see Notes)
- 1/2 tsp. cream of
tartar
- Pinch salt
- 1 cup superfine sugar
(see Notes)
- 2/3 cup (4 ozs.) miniature
semisweet chocolate chips
Adjust oven
racks to divide oven into thirds. Preheat oven to 250
degrees F. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil,
shiny side up. Do not grease the foil! In small cup, dissolve
espresso powder in hot water. Set aside to cool to room
temperature.
I think you
could make these in the small bowl of your electric stand
mixer (fitted with a whisk beater), but I don't have a
small bowl, so I use a large one. You can also use a sturdy,
powerful, hand-held mixer. In non-plastic mixing bowl,
combine egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Begin beating
at medium speed until combined. Increase speed to high;
beat to soft peaks.
Add sugar
about 1 tablespoon at a time, beating at high speed for
about 15 seconds between additions. It will take a few
minutes to get all of the sugar in, and the meringue will
become quite stiff. When all sugar has been added, beat
meringue at high speed for an additional minute or two.
Add cooled, dissolved espresso. Beat at medium speed to
incorporate, then beat at high speed for 1 minute. Remove
from mixer. With large spatula, gently but quickly fold
in chips just until well-combined.
Working quickly,
drop very heaping tablespoons of the meringue onto the
lined cookie sheets. I place 12 meringues on a sheet,
leaving some room between each (these spread as they bake).
Irregular shapes and lots of peaks and valleys are fine,
so don't fuss with the shapes of the meringues too much.
Place meringues
in preheated oven. Bake 45 minutes; switch sheets back-to-front,
then switch positions in oven (lower rack to upper rack
and vice versa). Bake 45 minutes longer (total baking
time is 90 minutes). TURN OVEN OFF but leave door closed;
allow meringues to stand in turned-off oven, undisturbed,
for two hours.
After two
hours, gently peel meringues from foil (they should peel
off easily) and cool completely on cooling rack. Store
airtight.
22-24 meringues
©
Stephanie Zonis provides the above information to anyone,
but retains copyright on all text. This means that you
may not: distribute the text to others without the express
written permission of Stephanie Zonis; "mirror"
or include this information on your own server or documents
without my permission; modify or re-use the text on this
system. You MAY: print copies of the information for your
own personal use; store the files on your own computer
for your personal use only; reference hypertext documents
on this server from your own documents.
