Meringue Kisses

These meringue kisses use a brilliant trick: you preheat the oven, slide the baking sheet in, then turn the oven off and walk away for five hours. The residual heat slowly dries the meringues from the outside in, giving you a crisp shell that shatters into a cloud of sweetness.

Whipping egg whites with cream of tartar and sugar creates the structure. The cream of tartar stabilizes the foam so it holds its shape, and adding the sugar one tablespoon at a time builds a glossy, stiff meringue that won’t weep or collapse. Chocolate chips folded in at the end add little pockets of richness throughout.

These are naturally gluten-free and barely there in terms of ingredients: egg whites, sugar, vanilla, cream of tartar, salt, and chocolate chips. That’s it.

Kitchen Tips

• Use room-temperature egg whites. Cold whites take longer to whip and won’t reach the same volume as warm ones.
• Make sure your bowl and beaters are spotlessly clean and completely grease-free. Even a trace of fat prevents egg whites from whipping to stiff peaks.
• Add sugar slowly, one tablespoon at a time. Dumping it all in at once deflates the whites and produces flat, weepy meringues.
• Don’t open the oven door during the 5-hour drying time. The temperature drop causes cracking and uneven drying.

Variations

• Tint the meringue with food coloring for Christmas or Easter cookie platters.
• Swap chocolate chips for crushed peppermint candy for a holiday mint meringue.
• Fold in chopped pistachios or toasted coconut instead of chocolate for a nut-studded version.