Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Meringue

Preheat oven to 225 F.

First things first. Make sure that all the bowls and ingredients have zero oil on them. They need to be squeaky clean. If they have even a tiny film of butter that the dishwasher didn’t catch, your meringue will not set. Also, it is very important that your eggs are room temperature (if you are short on time, put the whole eggs in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes). Also, make sure to separate them well. There cannot be even the tiniest bit of yolk in your egg whites.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on high until they are frothy. Add the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla and continue to beat until the egg whites have begun to thicken and set. Slowly add the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time and beat well. You need to beat them until the meringue is stiff and glossy and peaks.

At this time you have a couple options. You could just drop your desired size scoops of the mixture onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets (foil would work too, but do not grease the pan). I like to spoon the meringue into a large zip bag, snip off the corner, and make cute little kiss-shaped meringues, This also makes for easy cleanup. I learned that the best way to get the meringue into the bag and not on your counter is to put the bag into a large cup first, spoon it in, and then zip.

Then pop them in the oven for 1.5 hours. Now turn off the oven but do not take them out. Leave them in the oven for at least 2-3 hours. This is why they are also called “forgotten cookies”. If you take them out too early, they will be soft and chewy. Soft and chewy is great for snickerdoodles but less than awesome for meringues so don’t rush them. I usually make them one day and dip them in the chocolate the next day.

When they are done, it’s time for the chocolate and coconut. First you’re going to melt your chocolate. I used a dark 70% chocolate. The bittersweet flavor that dark chocolate has really complements the vanilla and toasted coconut. The best way to melt chocolate and not burn it is to heat up water in a small pot with a bowl placed on top (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Put the chocolate in the bowl and stir until melted. It takes a bit longer than microwaving but is definitely worth it. Besides you’re not going anywhere, you’ve got coconut to toast.

Spread the coconut evenly on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 F for about 20 minutes. You want the edges of the coconut to be turning a light brown. At that point, pull it out and cool.

Time to dip. I actually set up a little dipping station over parchment paper where I dipped the bottom of the meringues into the chocolate and then sprinkled the coconut on. I wouldn’t recommend dipping the chocolate coated cookie into the bowl of coconut. I tried that and it not only crushed the bottom of my meringue but my coconut got all chocolaty. You’ve been warned. So that’s basically it. Dip, sprinkle, repeat. Enjoy.