Over a week ago I baked a flourless chocolate torte for Passover. The torte is a rich dessert that required 8 egg yolks. I put the whites into a container to be used later for something else. For the last ten days, every time I opened the fridge, I saw those whites and said to myself, I have to do something with them. Yesterday, it was time or I was going to have to toss them, which would have been a crime.
My favorite go-to recipe for when I have extra whites is my Chocolate-Walnut Meringue Cookies. I had all of the ingredients in my pantry, including walnuts
and chocolate. (Guittard is the best-quality available at the supermarket.)
It’s an easy recipe, but I didn’t have the time to melt the chocolate or chop the nuts. So I improvised.
My husband’s family is from the South, where achingly sweet desserts abound. When he goes home he has Divinity, which are a version of meringue cookies that I’ve never taken a liking to. Divinity is super-saturated with sugar and corn syrup. But the idea of them – light sweet pillows of baked egg white – does appeal.
So, I whipped up the egg whites with the same amount of sugar that I use for my Chocolate-Walnut Meringue Cookies (1/4 cup sugar per egg white), which is about a quarter of what goes into Divinity!
Then, I gently stirred in the walnut pieces and chocolate. Using a spoon, I placed dollops on parchment paper.
I placed them in the oven at 325°F for about 30 minutes and this is what came out:
They have exactly the same ingredients and proportions as the Chocolate-Walnut Meringue Cookies, and yet the taste and texture are entirely different. They are Modernized Divinity. Delicious.
(Note that baking time for meringues varies according to the weather. They might take twice as long to bake if it is humid out. The cookies should be dry on the outside and shatter when bitten into, but be a tad chewy in the center. For crisp all the way through, lower the oven temp by 25 degrees and bake until dry.)
The Chocolate-Walnut Meringue Cookie recipe can be found in The Farmstead Egg Guide and Cookbook.
The first thing I tried from your new cookbook was the Chocolate-Walnut-Meringue Cookies and they were great, plus I used up all of the egg whites I had taken out of the freezer. Then, for an Easter party, I made a Meyer Lemon Semifreddo which required seven large egg yolks, and here I am with all these egg whites once again. I was going to make an angel food cake (haven’t done one of those in years and years), but perhaps your Modernized Divinity Cookies sound like Spring fun! Ah, decisions, decisions…
OMG! Those look delicious! I imagine the chocolate pieces inside are a GREAT surprise? Do they melt at all?
The chocolate melts just enough to be gooey, but not enough to melt all the way.
A couple eons ago when I was a teenager, I became enamored with making candy. Perhaps a reaction to finally getting the braces off my teeth after 7 years!! One of the things I tried was Divinity Fudge. I don’t remember any particulars about the recipe but I know it was white and maybe had cherries and or nuts. But it wasn’t baked.
One of my mother’s standard cookies was very similar but contained shredded coconut. Looked very similar to yours.
I have the opposite problem…..my raw homemade cat food recipe calls for 25 egg whites but then I am left with so many yolks! Unfortunately if I baked a flourless chocolate torte……well, I might as well just stick it to each of my hips!
Chocolate and nuts don’t have any calories :)
Well, that’s what I’ve always thought, too, but people insist on arguing with me. Thanks for the confirmation, Terry.
I love Divinity. Haven’t made it in years, though. It’s kind of a pain. I also love baked meringue ‘things’ too. And I also haven’t made any of those in forever. Clearly I’m depriving myself!
So what treats did you give the Ladies today? I popped in here to find your Ladies all wound up pushing and shoving and diving (MINE! MINE!). I -really- wish I had chickens to listen to. *sigh*
They didn’t get anything special today, but a strong wind is blowing things around their pen and keeping it interesting for them.
These look fantastic…. I need to order your book…
My Granddad used to make these cookies! His recipe was handwritten and when I read it, probably at 7 or 8 years old, it looked like they were called “Bird Shirt” cookies. When I said that, all the adults in the room laughed. It wasn’t until later in life that I realized what they were laughing about. (remove the “r” from shirt). :)
:)