Christmas is fast approaching and nothing says Happy Holidays like a fresh batch of home-made cookies. Ahhh, make that low-fat, gluten-free, great tasting cookies.
I might just be able to get through the holidays without having to pull out my fat pants, after all.
I've been on a bit of a Swiss Meringue craze of late. In the last few weeks alone, I have made five batches of Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC) in various flavours for various cakes - I have posts queued for each.
To make SMBC, you first make swiss meringue and then add butter to create the buttercream. Meringue cookies skip the butter step, so one might say they are in effect, unfinished SMBC. Well, maybe not, as there is nothing unfinished about these cookies.Here's a quick visual on how I made my cookies:
I made two batches - one piped and one spooned. For the spooned batch, shown above with the caption, 'Enjoy!', I used regular cocoa and added multi-coloured chocolate chips. They tasted great, but I wasn't too impressed with the way they looked. So for the second batch I used Cocoa Rouge, the cocoa powder I normally use for my Red Velvet cakes, and I skipped the chocolate chips. I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out. The colour was a little unusual - pinkish gray on the outside and reddish, chocolaty-brown on the inside. I piped them using an Ateco tip #885.
They were wonderfully light, flaky on the outside with a marshmallowy soft core. The Cocoa Rouge was a wonderful addition for both its rich, fudge-like flavour and subtle blush colour. I think I just might be on to something here!
They use very little ingredients and require very little effort - perfect for impromptu gatherings and gift giving. Package them in a jar, like I have done above, for that special someone(s). And if you're like me, gifting to self is always an option.
Making them was a cinch; however, keeping them around has proven somewhat of a challenge.
Servings: 24
Ingredients
- 200 g superfine sugar
- 100 g egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- a pinch of salt
- 20 g cocoa rouge
- 45 g semi-sweet chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250ºF.
- Use a clean towel or paper towel and lemon juice or vinegar to clean your mixer bowl, whisk and spatula. This will remove any traces of grease that could prevent the meringue from forming.
- Place egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer (a hand-held mixer works as well) and mix on high speed until soft peaks form.
- (see photo above).
- Turn mixer down to medium and sprinkle in the sugar a little at a time. Once all the sugar is added, turn mixer back to high and whip to stiff peaks.
- Remove bowl from mixer stand and sift chocolate over meringue. Fold in chocolate until fully incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Spoon or pipe meringue onto lined baking sheets and bake for 35 - 40 minutes.
Tried this recipe?Mention @isugarcoatit or tag #isugarcoatit !
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thanks, Paula! I have made and eaten way too many of these...
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thanks!!
G Pavao says
These look so good. Just pinned it so that I can add it to my Christmas cookies.
Paula Kelly-Bourque says
I like the look of the piped ones too, though I wouldn't have any problem eating both. Love your gift presentation of them too.
Julia@JuliasAlbum.com says
Pretty meringue! Love it!
Regina @SpecialtyCakeCreations says
Whoaah...I love the look of these meringue cookies! I am super intrigued by cocoa rouge. You were the first to introduce me to it and will definitely have to check it out when I am in Western country again 😉
I Sugar Coat It! says
I get the feeling that wil be a long while from now. South East Asia seems to be growing on you. 😉