Sweet Chocolate Filled Raspberry Meringue Kisses

I was recently asked by a blogging sister, Dee Dee, to do a guest post for her Blogger’s Recipe Roundup. I was thrilled to be a part of it, and I decided right away that I wanted to do something geared towards Valentine’s Day, since it’s right around the corner, but I wanted it to be something super simple (and still delicious). I settled on meringues. Not just any meringues, though. I made my favorite meringues: sweet raspberry flavored ones, tinted pink, and filled with chocolate!

The first time I encountered meringues, I was sure I wouldn’t like them. As pretty as they were, they didn’t fill my definition of a cookie, i.e. lots of butter, sugar, and flour…usually with chocolate in some form or another. Instead, these are light, airy, delicate little things with just a few basic ingredients…none of which were in my definition, except sugar. But I gave them a try anyway, and was very pleasantly surprised! I still don’t know if I would define them as cookies, they honestly strike me more as being a candy, but either way, I fell hard for these things! I still thought they needed chocolate, though. A little research revealed to me that there are several recipes for these out there that have them dipped in chocolate, or that has chocolate ganache sandwiched between two of them. And I’ve tried many of those recipes…they’re all wonderful! But isn’t there an easier way to add a little gooey chocolate to these, than making a ganache or melting, dipping, and drying? As a matter of fact there is, and you’ll really love it!

These are so simple, you only need four ingredients to make them: sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and raspberry extract. And if you want them to be chocolate filled (and why wouldn’t you?!), then you’ll also need chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk, and/or white chocolate).

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Place the bowl on top of a medium sauce pan filled with a couple of inches of barely simmering water and set over medium heat. Gently whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the standing mixer (if you’re not using a standing mixer, just remove the bowl from heat and use a hand mixer), and whisk the mixture on high until stiff peaks form. Stir in the extract and food coloring, if using.

This is where the chocolate finally comes in to play. This is so easy peasy, it’s gonna blow your mind! Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Place chocolate chips about 1 1/2- to 2-inches apart on the sheet. I made a few milk chocolate, a few white, a few semi-sweet…the semi-sweet filled meringues were, by far, my favorite. The hubster liked all three, with the white chocolate and the semi-sweet coming in ahead of the milk chocolate, and the kiddo thought all three flavors were equally good.

Fit a pastry bag with a Wilton #30 star tip (or comparable), fill with the meringue, and pipe small (3/4-inch-high) star shapes onto prepared baking sheets, centering each star on top of a chocolate chip. I told you it’d be easy! This tiny little step takes these meringues from basic to incredible, with pretty much zero effort! I love tricks like that!

Bake cookies at 175 degrees until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

These little cuties are so fast to mix up, and they naturally beautiful looking with very little effort! I love to fill a pretty platter or candy bowl with them for a party. Plus, they stay good for a few days, so making them ahead of time is easily done! Just keep them covered in an airtight container until ready to serve.

I also made a few large meringues by placing a trio of chocolate chips on the baking sheet, then piping a swirl of meringue over them. I love the little ones because they’re so bite sized, but these look really lovely lined up on a plate.

If you’ve never had meringues, you’re in for a treat! They’re crisp, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth, and you can flavor them with just about any flavor you like. Any and all extracts work well in them, as well as zests and flower waters. You can also skip the chocolate if you like, or replace it with dried fruit or nuts instead! These would be an excellent homemade sweet to box up and give to your love for Valentine’s Day! I hope you give them a try! They’re definitely worth it for their ease and prettiness, but mostly for how scrumptious they are! Enjoy!

Raspberry Meringue Kisses
Makes 3 to 6 dozen (depending on the how big you make them)
Ingredients

4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon raspberry extract (or another flavor, if preferred)
Food coloring, optional
1/4 to 1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Place chocolate chips about 1 1/2- to 2-inches apart on the sheet.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Place the bowl on top of a medium sauce pan filled with a couple of inches of barely simmering water and set over medium heat. Gently whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the standing mixer (if you’re not using a standing mixer, just remove the bowl from heat and use a hand mixer), and whisk the mixture on high until stiff peaks form. Gently stir in the extract and food coloring, if using.

Fit a pastry bag with a Wilton #30 star tip (or comparable), fill with the meringue, and pipe small (3/4-inch-high) star shapes onto prepared baking sheets, centering each star on top of a chocolate chip. Refill bag as necessary.

Bake cookies until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

Recipe by Darla

Tagged as: Chocolate, Chocolate Filled, Cookies, Gluten-free, Kisses, Meringues, Raspberry, Recipes