Thursday Recipes - Chocolate Chip Meringues

My very favoritest cookies from Trader Joe's are their chocolate chip meringues. Light, airy, chocolatey... Mmmm... I can eat half a dozen without batting an eye. So you can imagine my dismay when I went to buy some for myself (and some for my fellow meringue-lover and Daryl's Nashville host Ted) recently and the friendly TJ's employee (they always are friendly, even in Jersey. Not sure how they find that many polite employees, but I'm all for it...) told me that not only were they sold out but the product had been DISCONTINUED. WHAT?!?! They still sell the vanilla kind (which = waaaay too vanilla-y), but I've never liked those.

Then I remembered - my mom used to make these cookies when I was younger! She called them "Bake While You Sleep" cookies because you actually put them in a preheated oven and then just turn the oven off and let them sit for at least four hours or even overnight - perfect for putting in the oven on Christmas Eve and eating on Christmas day.

This recipe is from AllRecipes.com and it's naturally gluten-free. I've modified it a bit to fit with my mom's recipe, and I'll be baking these sometime this weekend, if all goes as planned. Mmmmm... See TJ's? I can make it just fine without you... Until I need those white cheddar cheese puffs. Or your amazing fruit leather. Or that tasty mango lemonade... Yeah. I'll be back soon.

A few tips on making meringues, as they can be temperamental... 1) Make sure the egg whites are completely yolk free. Even a tiny sliver of yolk can make them impossible to whip. 2) Eggs at room temperature will whip more easily. 3) Don't even try to do this by hand... Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer, or else invite three or four friends with REALLY strong arms over to whip it for you. It will take a long, long, loooong time. 4) Make sure all utensils, bowls, etc. you use are extra, extra clean. If there's any oil from your hands or leftover grease from another baking project, they won't whip.

Don't be scared! They really aren't that hard, and the rewards are well worth the effort.

Chocolate Chip Meringues

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• Optional: a touch of food coloring (this is great for holidays - pink for Valentine's Day, green for Christmas, etc.), shredded coconut, nuts, replace chocolate chips with butterscotch ones, peppermint extract for mint flavor, the possibilities are pretty vast...

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla while whipping to stiff peaks. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Place cookies in oven and turn oven off. Leave cookies undisturbed for 4 hours (or overnight). Wake up to yummy cookies!