Description
These Chocolate Kiss Meringue Cookies are light and crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. They are a wonderful make ahead cookie and they freeze beautifully!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 36 to 38 hershey kisses, unwrapped
- Cocoa for dusting, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt to a clean bowl of a stand mixer fiited with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer. Beat on high speed speed for about 1 minutes until soft peaks form. With the mixer on high speed, slowly add the sugar, followed by the vanilla. Beat for about 1 minute longer or until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat.
- Place the chocolate kisses on the lined cookie sheets, allowing at least 2 inches between each one. Set aside.
- Fit a pastry bag with a piping tip. I used a Wilton 1M open star tip. Fill the bag 1/2 full of the egg white mixture. Pipe 1.5-inch swirls around each chocolate kiss. Note, the meringues will not spread. To pipe, pipe a swirl as you go upward. Stop piping and lift the tip straight up. Dust the meringues with cocoa powder if desired.
- Bake for 1.5 hours, placing one baking sheet on each oven rack. Note: Do not open the oven door during the baking process. After 1.5 hours, turn off the oven. Do not open the oven door. Allow the meringues to sit in the oven for 1 hour until the oven has completely cooled.
- Remove the meringues from the oven. Allow to completely cool and remove from the cookies sheets with a flat metal spatula.
- Store meringues in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Freezing Meringues Meringues freeze beautifully. I recommend not freezing for over 2 monthes. They are fragile. Place meringues in single layers in a freezer safe container, with wax paper between the layers.