Mint Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

 

 

 My best friend from high school, Melanie, gave me the recipe for these mint meringue cookies decades ago.  Her family would hand them out for Christmas, so I remember making oodles of them at her house one year.

 

We learned by sad experience that the recipe cannot be doubled. If you need large quantities, it is better to just make batch after batch.

 

I am not a real fan of meringue, divinity, or any other egg white dessert, but I do like these egg white cookies. (I’m sure the chocolate and mint have something to do with that.)

The outside is crunchy and melts in your mouth.  The inside is soft, chewy, and full of chocolatey goodness.

 

If you are an expert baker and want to skip my tips and just see the recipe card, scroll to the bottom of the post.

HOW TO MAKE MERINGUE COOKIES

Making meringue is actually not hard, just follow these tips and your cookies should turn out perfectly the first time!

Ingredients needed:

• egg whites (I used large eggs. They will beat up much better at room temperature.)
• pinch of salt
• cream of tartar (The acid in the cream of tartar not only helps the egg whites beat up to full volume, it also stabilizes them so that they hold their shape.)
• granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (or vanilla extract if you prefer)
• mini semi sweet chocolate chips (You can use regular chocolate chips, but they weigh the cookies down a bit.)
• green food coloring (Optional, but fun if you are making the cookies mint flavored.)

1. Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature. To warm them up quickly, you can place your eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes. Works like a charm!
2. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
3. Separate your eggs and place the whites in a metal or glass bowl. Make sure none of the yolk gets into the egg whites! 
4. Beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar at high speed until very frothy and almost stiff.
   
5. Very gradually beat in the sugar; beat till stiff peaks form.
   
6. Fold in peppermint or vanilla extract, chocolate chips, and food coloring if desired.
   
7. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. 
   
8. Bake at 275° for about 30 minutes or until dry and cracked on top.
9. Let cool completely on the baking sheet. For an even lighter and airier cookie, just turn off the oven, prop open the door, and let them cool in the oven.

 

CHOCOLATE CHIP MERINGUE COOKIES PRO TIPS:

• Don’t let any grease come in contact with the egg whites. Metal and glass bowls work best because plastic bowls have a tendency to hold onto oil on the surface. Also make sure that not even a drop of yolk mixes with the egg whites.
• Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before you beat them. 
• It can take a long time to beat egg whites, so I recommend using a Kitchenaid mixer. 
• If you are making the mint version of these cookies (which I highly recommend), do not substitute peppermint oil for the peppermint extract. The oil causes the egg whites to deflate.
• An alternate method for baking these cookies is to preheat the oven to 275°, put the cookies in, and turn the oven OFF. Leave them overnight (or 8-10 hours). Sometimes called “forgotten cookies”, this method actually produces a cookie that is more light and crunchy in the middle.
• Use parchment paper on your baking sheet. Non stick cooking spray allows the cookies to spread too much. Parchment works even better than silicone pan liners for this recipe.