I used to spend a lot of time at my Grandma Duffy's and she loved meringue in all shapes and sizes— pies, cookies, individual pavlovas. These chocolate chip meringue cookies were my all time favorite, although the pavlovas with strawberries were a close second. We went to her house for nearly every Sunday dinner. There was always dessert and when I walked into her kitchen and saw the sheet tray with meringues on top of the dishwasher, I was one happy little girl. My parents and grandparents would have dessert in the dining room and my sister Bridget and I would go into the den, watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and eat our dessert on TV trays.
My Mom gave this recipe to Charlie last week. Considering how much I love these cookies, it is strange I have never made them. Meringue has always seemed way out of my league (I am not a good baker, remember?). I had egg whites sitting in the refrigerator (left over from the hollandaise) and this was my chance to have a little piece of Grandma Duffy in my kitchen. I just finished a book called The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry and the main character,Ginny, is able to conjure spirits when she cooks from a recipe written in their hand. While Grandma Duffy did not appear, as I pulled the cookies out of the oven I was transported back to the her kitchen.
Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
4 egg whites 1/8 tsp cream of tartar 3/4 cup of white sugar 2 cups of corn flakes 1 cup of chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until it forms soft peaks and gradually add sugar. Continue to beat until shiny and holds stiff peaks. Fold in corn flakes and chocolate chips. Put spoonfuls meringue on a parchment lined sheet tray and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool on sheet tray to set and then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
