Chocolate Amaretto Meringues

I do not like baked goods. Those of you who read my blog regularly know this by now. The only ones I really like are brownies. Well, I have just discovered another treat I love: Meringues. I had never had one before, but I nearly ate ALL of these. They are so amazing, and I want to try every meringue recipe in existence now. And eat all of them.

Chocolate Amaretto Meringues



Hey, look at that, a cookie recipe from Reader's Digest's Cookies: 1,001 Mouthwatering Recipes from around the World that actually worked out the way it was supposed to! These were originally called cinnamon meringues, but while the cinnamon definitely comes through, I think the almond extract comes through much more, as does the chocolate, so I changed the name. I like changing names of recipes. Walter likes for the name of the treat to very much describe how it tastes so people will know what they are getting at the office.

These are perfect. They were easy, delicious, and pretty. And delicious. I recommend them 1000% to anyone. I did have one problem: The recipe said to cook them for 50 to 60 minutes, but mine were done after about 30. I don't know if my sizing was off or what. Maybe my oven temperature is off--need to get an oven thermometer and check. However, it has never been off before, so I am not sure. The other meringue recipes in the book say 20-30 minutes, so I am not sure. I would say to check them after about 20 minutes, and if they are not done, leave them in there.

This recipe makes about 30 cookies.

Ingredients
-2 large egg whites
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-2/3 cup sugar
-1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites and salt at medium speed until frothy.
3. Switch mixer to high speed and gradually add sugar to egg whites, and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form.
4. Fold in remaining three ingredients (I gave it a quick beating with the mixer to help combine the cocoa powder). Fit a pastry bag with a 1 1/2 inch star tip and fill pasty bag with batter.
5. Squeeze generous rosettes of batter about 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake for 50-60 minutes (Like I said, it only took 20-30 minutes for me) or until crisp and dry to the touch, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Cool completely on baking sheets.