With Valentine’s Day just around the corner I wanted to give you a little something sweet to share with that special someone. This is my new favorite cookie, not too sweet, a little nutty and full of chocolate goodness. The best part? They are about as healthy as you can get and still be a cookie. Don’t let whipping the egg whites scare you, this is a pretty foolproof method since you warm the egg whites and dissolve the sugar before whipping.
I do love the flavor of hazelnuts and chocolate together and I especially love these cookies since I don’t have to feel too bad about indulging in them. Actually I didn’t need to worry too much about eating too many since my son ate almost the entire batch once he tasted them.
- 4 large egg whites
- 1½ cups confectioners' sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 cups of hazelnut meal
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium heatproof bowl, combine egg whites, sugar and a pinch of salt. Set bowl over a pot with 1 inch of simmering water (make sure that the bowl doesn't touch the water) and cook, whisking constantly, until warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Remove bowl from the heat and using a stand mixer, beat the mixture on high until thick and glossy. Gently fold hazelnut meal into the egg whites.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon mixture into a pasty bag fitted with a ½-inch round top. Pipe 30 (1½-inch-round) mounds onto the baking sheets. Alternatively you drop the cookies by the tablespoon onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the surface of the meringues are dry to the touch.
- Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over the water bath that you used for the egg whites. Melt the chocolate stirring occasionally until smooth. Using a spoon drizzle the chocolate over the tops of the cookies and let cool until the chocolate is set.
I didn’t forget that I promised to share some of my favorite music with you as well, these are some of my favorite songs for bringing a tear to my eye and a longing to my heart. Listen to them while you bake up a batch of these cookies, I can’t think of a better way to spend the afternoon.
Thank you for sharing the receipt and the beautiful song which I’ve just purchased.
Laurence Christel
Hi Laurence,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the music. It’s been great fun searching for songs I’d like to share. I hadn’t realized how much I missed music until I started this little project!
It was such a beautiful music that I share it with my sister and I bought it on itunes, I enjoyed also the Kiwi band as it’s a memory from my time in New Zealand.
Your receipts are great too!
I was so happy to hear that you shared the music with your sister as well. I love to find new things to listen to and really appreciate when friends steer me towards something new to listen to. Since I’ve started spending more time looking for music that I’d like to post I’ve discovered a bunch of new bands and songs so it’s been totally worth it!
You are killin’ it with the music. So perfect for my all alone night while Husband is out of town for the week and the babies are all nestled in their beds. I have to find some hazelnut meal for this. Would it be crazy to try to make pistachio meal at home? That is sounds really good in place of the hazelnut.
I can’t see why you couldn’t try it with pistachios. I make my own nut meals all the time in my food processor. Just make sure to watch them carefully and don’t let them turn into nut butter. Let me know how they turn out if you try it with pistachios!