Chocolate Meringue

2.8.19 Sadly, this recipe has convinced me to never try making meringues again because this was a disaster. I followed the instructions to the letter, and ended up with a bowl of runny/soupy egg white-cocoa. No sense in even attempting to drop this onto a baking sheet because it would have just puddled into a runny mess. I thought maybe more confectioners sugar would thicken it up a bit, so I started gradually with 1/4 cup sugar, another 1/4 cup, another 1/4 cup, and finally, two additional tablespoons to no avail…then stopped! Since I’d added so much additional sugar, I did add about a tablespoon more of the cocoa powder so as not to lose the cocoa flavor. Well, the consistency still wasn’t even close to “stiff,” so I added a bit of cream of tartar, but that didn’t help either. My best effort resulted in “meringue patties,” but I went ahead and put the patties into the oven, and took them out 1-1/2 hours later And that brings me to another point, how can you have a recipe that has a baking time of “1 to 2 hours”…WHAT? This recipe looks like it was tweaked from Authentic French Meringues on this site, with cocoa being added to this recipe. If you decide to make this, I would recommend adding vanilla, because all I could taste was the confectioners sugar. Also, if you use parchment paper, you dont need to butter and flour the pan. Not sure what went wrong here, but I WILL NOT be making this again

I made this using previous meringue experience, whipping the eggs on a higher setting until foamy and holding soft peaks, then slowly adding the remaining ingredients. Then I impatiently tried to bake them at a higher temp for a shorter time, as I have with other meringues - 250 for 45 min - and the outsides are beautiful but the inside not fully cooked. They are delicious nonetheless, and far smoother in appearance than meringues I've made with granulated sugar. I'll definitely be making these again!

I followed the recipe directions very closely and will add vanilla next time. When first adding the sugar to the egg whites I thought I was going to end up with a bowl of goo. After 10 minutes of whisking, you can see that stiff peaks formed and the batter was a glossy white.
Do add the cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon at a time! Any faster is going to cause a mess.
I used a cookie scoop to form the cookies and placed some on parchment paper and some on pans prepared with the butter/flour method found in the recipe. Next time I will use a small cookie scoop and parchment paper. I baked my cookies for the full 2 hours in a 200-degree oven and they turned out very nicely. They spread to a diameter of about 2.25", have a crisp exterior and fully cooked interior. The missing star is only due to the sweetness. Add a bit of vanilla and they will probably be a 5-star cookie.