Choco Crunch Meringue Cookies

By now, i am sure enough is known about the association of my Happiness with the idea of baking. Perhaps, the greatest joy of baking a sweet or savory, is the idea of getting floury, sticky and wholly involved. 

Today, was one of those days, when i wanted to cook (out of sheer Happiness as always), but had no fixed idea of what, and had no actual meal to prepare to justify fiddling about in the kitchen. It was then that i convinced myself that there were some quick easy cookies that needed to be made. What a Joy!!!!! Cookies are mostly free form kind, you either spoon them onto a tray or roll them into balls between your hands to shape them but then what i invented was a complete an experiment.

I had a lot of unused stuff stocked in my refrigerator waiting to be consumed. Half a dozen eggs, few oranges and a handful of almonds.. How would i make cookie out of it?? What would that taste like??!!?? Cookie baking with a list of restricted ingredients seemed distant, but then if one's thinking cap is on, then an archaic practice of cookie baking can also be modernized. 

Cookie baking has to be, however innocently, one of the great culinary scams: it implies effort, it implies domestic prowess, but believe me, this delight from my kitchen is a heartthrob of all and an incredibly easy one. 

Ingredients:-

Choco Crunch Meringue Cookies

    3 oz eggs whites (about 3 large eggs)

    3/4 cup granulated sugar

    2 tablespoon powdered sugar

    1 teaspoon vanilla

    1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

    226 gms chocolate, melted and cooled

Orange Drizzle

    1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

    2 Tbsp honey

    2 cloves

    ½ inch cinnamon stick

Almond Praline

    30 gms castor sugar

    30 gms almond unskinned

Steps to Follow:-

Orange Drizzle

Combine the honey and orange juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Throw in cloves and cinnamon. Turn the gas on a low flame and let the mixture simmer until half the quantity. Let it cool when the quantity has been reduced to as desired.

Almond Praline

Heat a pan. Add sugar and almond and allow the sugar to melt. Keep the flame low. Do not stir the mixture. Instead you may swirl to ensure the sugar melts uniformly. Cook caramel, until deep golden. Cool the praline on a parchment paper until hard, about 15 minutes. Chop praline or you may blitz to a rough textured powder.

Choco Crunch Meringue Cookies

1. Heat oven to 275 degrees F. Line bake sheet with parchment. 

2. Place egg whites in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk and whip until soft peaks hold. Gradually add in both sugars and then vanilla and vinegar. 

4. Increase speed and whip until mixture is free of sugar grit when rubbed between two fingers and the meringue holds stiff and glossy peaks. 

5. Once all the ingredients have been incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue whisking until the meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks. 

6. Once the meringue is stiff, drizzle a some cooled chocolate (from the 1st step) on top of the meringue – DO NOT MIX IN.

7. Unmixed chocolate drizzle is what gives the meringues their interesting swirls. 

8. Use a 3-tablespoon sized cookie dough scoop to portion out a meringue onto the prepared baking tin. 

9. Continue drizzling chocolate over the meringues before scooping until all the meringue batter is used. 

10. Bake meringue for about 40-50 minutes or meringue easily peels away from parchment paper. Cool on a wire rack. 

11. Plate the meringue cookies on a platter and drizzle some orange syrup topped with some nutty praline.

Suffering from sweet cravings but running short of time or in a hurry?? Then this recipe of new-aged cookie, as i term it to be, can be made to augment a tub of good, bought ice cream to ridiculously great effect. And to everyone's surprise this sweet treat is easier than making any dessert you could think of.