Cookie Exchange

We had a cookie exchange at work this week and I contributed these cocoa meringue cookies with chocolate ganache filling. Meringues are great when you need to make a large quantity of sweets for an event because you can get a ton of cookies out of just a few ingredients. The ganache filling is optional and you can experiment with flavors like orange or peppermint in the meringue.


Cocoa Meringue Cookies with Chocolate Ganache Filling

Meringues - Makes about 8 dozen cookies (4 dozen sandwiches)
1 c Egg Whites
1 ½ c Sugar
¼ tsp Cream of Tartar
1 packet Hot Cocoa Mix

Combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in mixing bowl. Place over pot of simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and beat on high speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold in hot cocoa mix.
Pipe meringues onto parchment lined cookie sheet using a large star tip. Bake at 200F for 3-4 hours. Turn oven off and leave meringues in overnight to dry.

Ganache – Makes enough for 4 dozen sandwiches
8 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
4 oz Heavy Cream

Place chips in a mixing bowl. Bring heavy cream to a boil and pour over chips. Let sit 5 minutes.
Whisk gently starting at the center and moving toward edges of the bowl until all the chips have melted and mixture is smooth. Let sit overnight at room temperature.
When ready to use, microwave ganache for 10 seconds and stir to soften. Place in a decorating bag and pipe ganache (no tip) onto bottom of meringue and gently press together with another meringue.