When the ice cream is long gone and you suddenly remember the six egg whites that have been sitting in a jar in the fridge, this is the recipe for you. If you are lucky you will remember them on a day that is perfect meringue weather. To be honest, I'm not sure if meringues have to be weather dependent but my mom always insisted that they should be made on clear days with few clouds and almost no humidity. I set out to make these meringues on a day that perfectly fit that description. It was cool and the sky was vibrantly blue. By the end of the day it was raining and my meringues survived just fine.
My first impulse for these egg whites was to make a pavlova but I didn't have a pile of fresh berries, nor did I need a show stopping summer dessert. So I made chocolate meringues. These could be good under a pile of berries, too, but they are excellent eaten as is.
Chocolate Meringues
It seems like the basic ratio for meringues is 1/3 cup of sugar for each egg white. These are definitely sweet so next time I will try reducing the amount of sugar a little bit. If you don't have six egg whites, it is easy to adjust the recipe to make a smaller amount.
6 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350'. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until they are stiff, but not dry. Continue beating and add the sugar a few tablespoons at a time. When all the sugar is added, beat in the cocoa until it is completely incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scoop the meringue onto parchment lined baking sheets. Place the meringues in the oven and turn off the oven. Leave the meringues for at least two hours or over night (I stored mine in the oven and that kept them fresh for a couple of days).
Makes 12 large meringues.
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