Makes 20 sandwich cookies.
- Prep time: 1h
- Cook time: 35min
- Total time: 1h 35min
- Difficulty: Intermediate
This is a great recipe when you have leftover egg whites. These cookies are easier to make than the famous French macarons, but are just as tasty. They can be filled with virtually anything that comes to your mind. Go wild!
For the cinnamon and hazelnut meringue cookies.
Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- pinch of salt
- 90g caster sugar
- 65g powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornflour
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 80g toasted chopped hazelnuts
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 140°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In clean and dry mixing bowl, combine egg whites and salt. Beat egg whites until frothy and then gradually start adding caster sugar. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Add sifted powdered sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice and beat on high speed for 3 minutes. The mixture should be stiff, silky and shiny. Gently fold in hazelnuts and cinnamon.
Take a heaped teaspoon on of meringue mixture and slide it onto baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the mixture. You can make smaller or bigger heaps, but make sure you adjust baking times according the their size. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. They should still be a bit chewy in the middle. Let them cool on a wire rack completely.
For the chocolate ganache filling.
Ingredients:
- 120g chopped dark chocolate
- 45ml heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon strong black coffee
- 1 teaspoon butter
Directions:
In a medium bowl combine one third of the chocolate, heavy cream and coffee. Melt over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat and add butter and the remaining chocolate. Stir until completely melted and evenly combined. Set aside and let it set until it reaches piping consistency, about 20 minutes.
Pipe some ganache on one cookie and top with another one. Let the ganache filling set completely at room temperature.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks.
Commentary.
Category: Cookies
I always find myself quite unprepared when faced with leftover egg whites. I’m not really a big fan of meringue, or at least I thought so. After numerous tries and second chances, I still wasn’t impressed with any form of meringue cookies, famous French macarons included. However, I decided to give meringue one more chance after I was once again confronted with couple of leftover egg whites after making Paprenjak cookies. This time I decided to flavor them with some hazelnuts and cinnamon, hoping to camouflage that overwhelming sweetness that meringue usually has. I was quite pleasantly surprised, I must admit. Adding some bittersweet chocolate ganache, gave these meringue cookies a nice depth of flavor and a really lovely taste.