Chocolate Chip Meringues

I've been eyeing off this recipe for a while but didn't have any chocolate in the house that lasted long enough for me to make it into something. Yesterday, I was searching through the pantry for cornflour and discovered a tiny 110g packet of Cadbury Dream. I searched for white chocolate recipes but I found none that I had the supplies for. I then saw the egg whites in the fridge leftover from yesterday's crème brûlée. Inspired, I found the chocolate chip meringue recipe on smittenkitchen.com and got to work.

Mmm...vanilla flavoured egg white.

These were incredibly simple to make, but tasted fantastic. They were lovely and marshmallowy hot (with the chocolate melted), and they were more crispy and chewy when they had cooled down.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies 

from smittenkitchen.com 

2 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar (I used lemon juice instead)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup regular or superfine sugar (I used a bit more than 1/2 a cup)
6 ounces chocolate chips, miniature chips or finely diced semi or bittersweet chocolate (I used white chocolate)
1/4 chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted first is even tastier (I omitted this)

Preheat oven to 150°C.

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar and vanilla, and beat mixture again until it holds soft peaks. Add the sugar, gradually, beating the batter until it is stiff. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes. Undersides of cookies should be golden or lightly tanned.

Note: There are two approaches to baking meringues. This shorter cooking time at a higher temperature yields a cookie with a crackly, crumbly exterior and an almost hollow center. A more traditional approach is a longer baking time, 200 degrees (95 degrees Celsius) for 1.5 to 2 hours. Take the longer-baked version out when they are slightly golden and firm to the touch. They will be more soft and fluffy, like miniature pavlovas.