Chocolate Pine Nut Meringue Cookies

[Yvonne (Vonnie) Mostat, RN]

In Italy these cookies are known as 'Brutti ma Buoni  (ugly but good)  They are quick and easy to make, they have crackly tops and chewy, rich interiors

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper

I did the egg whites the easy way. I purchased powdered Meringue rather than endeavoring to separate the egg yolks from the egg whites - not my talent) The back of the container of meringue stated 2tsp. of meringue powder plus2 tbsp of water equals one egg white. Without the concern of getting some egg yolk into your egg whites (a talent of mine)  Beat the egg whites and water until they start to hold their shape. Beat in 1/2 Cup of sugar a little at a time. Continue beating until the meringue holds stiff, unwavering peaks. About two minutes. (Just like you would do making lemon meringue pie) Beat in the pinch of fine sea salt, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, or scrape some vanilla off a vanilla bean if you feel more secure with that.2/3 Cups (3 ounces) pine nuts. Did you know that pine nuts and hazelnuts are good for you with  regards to their natural oils? 4 ozs of dark chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm. This is where I "balked" at the dark chocolate. Even knowing it is the best for me I usually buy gluten-free white chocolate or a lighter chocolate, so I changed to white chocolate (since I do not have any Italian relatives to tell me off). Beat in the sugar a little at a time. Fold in the pine nuts. They state it is fine to swirl the melted chocolate into the cookies at this stage. Drop by teaspoonful onto the baking sheet. Put the cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake until puffed up and crisp, about 10 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE, just until they are lightly brown at the edges.  The interiors will firm up as they cool. Transfer to a wire rack. I found it helpful all the times I have baked these cookies to use a thin cookie metal spatula to remove from cookie sheet.  At times I have folded in some white chocolate chips and even chocolate chips. Of course that adds calories. But considering there is no flour or butter or oil in this recipe you are getting this very good cookie that has crackly tops and is chewy and rich inside.

You will find using the powdered meringue that it contains 20 calories, 1% fat, 1% sodium and 1% carbohydrates. 1 gram of protein. And calcium is 4% so enjoy!

 

[Scott Adams]

Thank you for sharing! These looks outstanding!

[pistachioguy]

Thanks for sharing this recipe. I wish you had posted some photos of your creation. I am sure they were great.

I also follow a strict gluten-free diet. And I love everything with pistachio. Where I live it is a bit difficult to follow but I manage.