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Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

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Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

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These light-as-a-cloud, kiss-shaped chocolate chip meringue cookies have a crisp outer shell and marshmallowy-soft interior.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

These light as a cloud, kiss-shaped chocolate chip meringue cookies have a crisp outer shell and marshmallowy-soft interior. They’re gluten-free and somewhat guilt-free. Yes, I know – sugar and chocolate – but as far as cookies go, they’re pretty innocent. The recipe comes from one of my mom’s best friends, Kathy Hattendorf, who is like an aunt to me. Thank you, aunt Kathy!

“These are absolute perfection. Easy to make and the most delicious merengue cookies!”

Kathleen

What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Chip Meringues

ingredients for chocolate chip meringue cookies

Step-by-Step Instructions

Begin by combining the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until frothy, soft peaks form.

beating the egg whites until foamy

Add the sugar very gradually, beating all the while. It should take about 2 minutes to add it all. Then continue beating for 4 to 5 minutes more, until the meringue is glossy and stiff, with a shaving cream-like consistency.

beating the meringue to stiff and glossy peaks

Add the vanilla and mix well.

beating in the vanilla

Set aside 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips and add the rest to the meringue. Fold with a rubber spatula to combine.

folding in the chocolate chips

Drop heaping mounds of the meringue onto lined baking sheets and dot with the reserved chocolate chips.

meringue mounds on baking sheet ready to bake

Bake in a 250°F oven for 30 minutes, then turn the oven off and allow the meringues to cool in the oven for 30 minutes more.

baked chocolate chip meringue cookies cooling on baking sheet

Let the cookies continue cooling on the baking sheet on the countertop until the chocolate chips are no longer soft. The cookies are best enjoyed fresh on the day they are made but leftovers can be stored an airtight container for several days. Be careful when stacking the cookies; they are fragile.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

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Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

These light-as-a-cloud, kiss-shaped chocolate chip meringue cookies have a crisp outer shell and marshmallowy-soft interior.

Servings: 18 to 20 cookies
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes, plus about 1-1/2 hours to cool

Ingredients

  • 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Set two racks in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 250°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt on medium-high speed (or high speed if using a hand mixer) until the egg whites are frothy, white, and hold a soft peak when the whisk is lifted out of the bowl, about 45 seconds. Continue to beat on medium-high speed, adding the sugar very gradually, taking about 2 minutes to add it all. Beat for 4 to 5 minutes more, until the meringue is glossy and stiff, with a shaving cream-like consistency. Beat in the vanilla extract. Set 3 tablespoons of the chocolate chips aside. Add the remaining chocolate chips to the meringue and fold with a rubber spatula to combine.
  3. Use two soup spoons to drop 1.5-in mounds of meringue onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Dot the meringues with the reserved chocolate chips, pressing them into the meringue just slightly. Place the meringues in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the meringues cool in the oven for 30 minutes more. Let the meringues finish cooling on the baking sheets on the countertop for about 1 hour, or until the chocolate chips are no longer soft. The cookies are best enjoyed fresh on the day they are made but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for several days. Take care when stacking the cookies; they are fragile.
  4. Note: It's best to make these cookies on a cool, dry day. Humidity may cause them to become sticky.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (20 servings)
  • Serving size: 1 cookie
  • Calories: 63
  • Fat: 2 g
  • Saturated fat: 1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 12 g
  • Sugar: 11 g
  • Fiber: 0 g
  • Protein: 1 g
  • Sodium: 24 mg
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Gluten-Free Adaptable Note

To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.

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Comments

  • Holy crap are these amazing! They’re like little edible clouds!

    • — Stephanie on February 28, 2024
    • Reply
  • I could not eat just one!!! Made these without chocolate chips,
    and they simply melted in my mouth! A great way to use
    left-over egg whites! Thank you for a winning recipe!

    • — Barbara Kettler on February 15, 2024
    • Reply
  • I love these meringues. I bought some freeze dried raspberries to try a different version for Valentines. Have you tried this before?

    • — Heidi Olson on February 7, 2024
    • Reply
    • Hi Heidi, I can’t say that I have — I’d love to hear how they come out!

      • — Jenn on February 7, 2024
      • Reply
  • I made these last night. They are for a dinner I’m hosting tonight. Of course I had to test one and they are delish! Light and airy and dotted with chocolate chips. I hope I don’t eat them all before my guests arrive…

    • — Maya on February 2, 2024
    • Reply
  • I’m in the process of making these as I had leftover egg whites from your flan recipe! I have suddenly realised they are best eaten on the day they are made! I don’t suppose it’s possible to freeze them is it?

    • — Jenny on December 21, 2023
    • Reply
    • Hi Jenny, like most cookies, they are best on the day they’re baked, but they will keep well for several days in an airtight container. If you have leftovers after that, you can get away with freezing them.

      • — Jenn on December 22, 2023
      • Reply
  • Came out WAY too soft, no crisp in them at all. Deleted this recipe.

    • — Julie Lehmann on December 20, 2023
    • Reply
  • Do you think I could add a bit of mint extract and green food coloring without ruining the recipe?

    • — Anita on December 12, 2023
    • Reply
    • Yep!

      • — Jenn on December 12, 2023
      • Reply
  • What a fun thing to make and eat! Thanks for another crowd pleaser Jen!

    • — Liz Eaves on May 18, 2023
    • Reply
  • Made these for the first time, and my husband, who is ambivalent about meringue generally, said that they were so delicious that they’re competitive with traditional chocolate chip cookies. We both loved that the chips placed on top of the meringues before baking got gooey.

    • — Laura on April 6, 2023
    • Reply
  • These are absolute perfection. Easy to make and the most delicious merengue cookies!

    • — Kathleen Aubert on January 1, 2023
    • Reply
  • Hi Jen,

    I made these a few years ago but remember it said to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. They came out perfectly, better than other recipes I have tried. Are the results the same with the current instructions? Could you remind me of the previous directions?

    We love your French lentil soup as well as the key lime pie. Made the chocolate Pavlova for Passover three years ago and it was a mega hit!

    Thanks
    Phyllis

    • — Phyllis Balagur on March 28, 2022
    • Reply
    • Hi Phyllis, so glad you’ve enjoyed the recipes you’ve made! I did change this recipe a few years ago but I think the cookies come out just as nicely. (I thought that it wasn’t necessary to have them sit in the oven overnight and didn’t make any difference in the finished product.) If you’d like to reference the original recipe, scroll down to immediately above the last picture of the cookies and you’ll see a link that you can click to access it. Hope that helps!

      • — Jenn on March 31, 2022
      • Reply
  • Pretty good but way too sweet for our taste. Wondering the recipe works if you added less sugar.

  • Good recipe and it doesnt take that long😃

  • Another recipe I’ve used for years, which I now can’t find, was called Nighty Night cookies. I preheat the oven to 375 degrees. After making the meringue chocolate chip cookies, I put the trays in the oven, turn off the temperature, and let them bake overnight. It was always a huge time saver on Christmas Eve.

    • — Julia A Thornbrough
    • Reply
  • Turned out great!

  • First time making meringues for me – recipe was easy and results were tasty! A couple tweaks for next time: First, I’ll increase the vanilla to 1 T (although unsure if the additional liquid will be a problem – I’ll find out…). Second, I will play with reducing the second period of 30 minutes in the oven (when you turn off the heat but leave them in). There were a couple chewy meringues, but many of them were entirely dried out – still tasted delicious, but I prefer that chew. Every oven is different, and it seems for mine, that time is too long.

  • WAY too many chocolate chips. 3/4 cup????? Mine just clogged up the piping bag and then pushed out the tip, and I used MINI chocolate chips!

    • They said use a soup spoon

  • Amazing! Thank you for the recipe. A huge hit at the seder!

  • These were simple to make and excellent! This recipe will get added to my collection of favorites.

  • Perfect results every time. These remind me of my childhood. My grandmother always made these and I was thrilled to find Jenn’s easy, no fail recipe. And gluten free!

  • Love this recipe!! I used chocolate chunks and made the cookies a little larger. Delicious!!

    • — Nancy Silverman
    • Reply
  • I do not like chocolate, could I use flaked coconut instead? I had some with coconut last year and they were delicious. They were chewy on the inside, are these similar in texture?

    Thank you.

    • Hi Mabe, I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work. And yes, these are a bit chew on the inside. Please LMK how they turn out!

      • Perfect today for a cooking session with our 6 and 9 year old granddaughters who loved the kid’s baking championship on tv. They knew what meringue was and practiced cracking the eggs without mixing any yolks into the white. And GF ingredients mean their other mama can enjoy them!

        • — Richard Dermody
        • Reply
  • Hi Jen, it’s a little bit confusing to me. Is it supposed to be chewy when it first comes out of the oven? Even after 30 minutes? Why is it not crunchy as it should be? It is really like a marshmallows😅😅😅

    • Hi Dwi, The outside of the cookies should be crisp but the insides are supposed to have that marshmallowy soft texture (so it sounds like you didn’t do anything wrong). 🙂

      • Jenn this is a quick question. Can you double the recipe or is it too much like candy to double? Interested in trying to make these and I will have 6 egg whites to use. Thank you, it looks very yummy!

        • — Linda Harris on November 19, 2022
        • Reply
        • Hi Linda, You can definitely double this. Enjoy!

          • — Jenn on November 20, 2022
          • Reply
          • When I doubled recipe I found I did not have enough oven room to bake all at one time and had half the batter waiting over an hour to be baked. The batter lost some of lost its consistency over that wait time, was not a firm peak anymore. Cookies were a bit droopier looking but tasted good.

            • — Lou on December 21, 2022
          • Good to know — thanks for sharing that. So it sounds like it’s not optimal to double these if you only have one oven.

            • — Jenn on December 21, 2022
  • Loved it and did my own twist. I did white choc chips instead. I’m only eleven and am soo bored. This really helped me entertain myself.

    • Glad you liked them!

  • Is there a substitute for cream of tartar? I can’t wait to make these, but I cannot get to the store!

    • Hi Kathy, I believe you can substitute it with an equal amount of white vinegar or lemon juice. Enjoy!

    • A great substitute is also powdered alum

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