Friday, May 24, 2013

Forgotten Cookies



I picked up an antique kids cookbook and found this gem of a recipe.

Really this is a meringue cookie. A really, really simple one.

But why "forgotten" you ask?

The deal? You whip them up before bed (it will take all of 5 minutes!), forget about them all night and wake up to cookies!

Really, what could be better than that?

They are adaptable to what you want to add (plain, chocolate chips, or with chocolate and chopped nuts) AND they require virtually no energy to cook them (both yours and the oven's energy, I should state!)

Best of all, these are naturally gluten-free for those avoiding gluten/wheat.

The kids love the chocolate chip version but the hazelnut and chocolate is pretty special for the big kids.

Despite the name, these cookies are not so easy to forget once you've tasted them though...


Forgotten Cookies (a.k.a.  Easiest Meringues ever!)
You can have some control over the amount of sugar in this recipe, I've decreased it to 1/2 cup and the results are still excellent. And you can also use less chocolate chips if you want. 

2 egg whites
1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar (I used organic cane sugar with good results)
up to 1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
*optional: up to 1/2 cup finely chopped or ground nuts (recommended: ground hazelnuts!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat 2 egg whites until thick and creamy (nearly stiff peaks) with electric mixer or stand mixer.
3. Add 2/3 cup sugar and beat until stiff.
4. Gently fold in 1 cup chocolate chips (I used minis) and 1 tsp vanilla.
5. Drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a small ice cream scoop disher) onto a foil-lined cookie sheet. (No need to space far apart).
6. Shut off oven and do not open door until morning! Forget about them.
7. In morning, remove from oven and store in airtight container- if they can make it that long...