Macarons and Meringues

Lately I have been absolutely obsessed with macarons.  It all began with a trip to Paulette's... where I learned that a real macaron is made with only egg white, sugar, and almond flour.  No wheat!!!  Amazing!!!  Anywhoooo...  they are quite delicious and happily fulfill my sweet needs.  Of course I can't afford Paulette macarons everyday, so I've been munching on these little guys from Trader Joe's.  They are wonderful!!! :D!  

Then I thought, let's make macarons!!! 
Then I learned that macarons are kind of difficult to make...  French technique, blah blah blah... So, I decided to start off with meringues! 


Chocolate chocolate chip meringues (thank you myrecipes.com)

Ingredients: 
-1/2 cup powdered sugar
-1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
-5 large egg whites
-1/4 tsp cream of tartar
-2/3 cup granulated sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:
1.  First, sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa.

2.  Gather together the egg whites and cream of tartar into a large bowl and beat until soft peaks form.

I whipped my egg whites by hand :(   
After my experience, I would highly suggest embracing the 21st century and investing in a mixer.

3.  Gradually, meaning one spoonful at a time, incorporate in the granulated sugar and powdered sugar/cocoa mixture.  Continue to beat until stiff peaks form
**Yeah... my peaks totally went flat here and the batter became glue-like.  Roomie says that I over beat the egg whites :(  I will definitely use a mixer next time.**    

4.  Fold in the vanilla and chocolate chips.

 5.  In nice tablespoon sized mounds, drop the dough onto a prepared cookie sheet. 
**Okay.  So, I tried to get a little fancy here and pipette out the dough via a pastry bag (aka. a ziploc bag with corner cut off).  Yeah, I think I learned this one from Rachel Ray.  Anywhooooo... I think this would have worked better if the dough was firmer. 

Hahahaha... cookies that look like poo!  Yes, I am 5.   

I tried to hide the poop shape of the cookies with chocolate hats.  I think this actually helped... or now I have poop shaped chocolate cookies!!! 

6.  Bake at 300F for 30 minutes, rotating the rack at 15 minutes.  Turn off the oven, then allow them to dry in the closed oven for 90 minutes.     
**I had to bake mine for about 45 minutes to get them nice and firm.**

The final product!

Yeah.  My meringues were far from perfect, but they were quite delicious and light!!! 
The chocolate chips really helped make this cookie delicious and I'll be sure to add it in the future.
Stay tuned for macarons trial #1!