Mocha Meringues

 

Mocha meringues.

Crunchy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.  A strong coffee flavor with a hint of chocolate. That's how I'd describe it.

Or if you're the friend of mine from math, they are small, very good things.

Or, if you're the friend from English, meringues are nasty.

Or, if you're another friend from math, they deserve a thumbs up.

Or, if you are the friend of mine who sits next to me in art class, meringues have a texture of toothpaste.

Hey, everybody has different opinions. When I brought a bunch of these to school for my friends to try, I got mixed feedback. Some said that they were very good, some didn't like the coffee flavor, and one even threw it away. I personally like these. The bitterness from the coffee helps even out the usually overly-sweet meringue.

I got the recipe from Butter Sugar Flour. She said it'd make 30 sandwiches. I made about 60. I'm terrible when it comes to making mounds that are "2.5 cm in diameter and 4 cm apart." I just can't do it. Oh well. Friends are there to eat the extra ones. 

After school this Friday, my friend, "BhuBhu," came over. We went to middle school together. Her family immigrated to the U.S. from India, but she decided to return to India for high school. This way, she could go to college in India and become a doctor there. She came back during her summer vacation. She gave me some bangles from India, and in return, I gave her some meringues. 

We talked for the entire hour, until she had to leave. She told me about her ambitions to become a doctor in India, in an effort to make the world a better place. She's making a lot of sacrifices, like leaving her family and friends, and living with her aunt and uncle instead. Yes, I know that I'm sounding cheesy right now, and she's sounding just as cheesy too, but if you ever meet her, you'll know that she's serious about the whole making-the-world-better idea. 

The hour flew by. She'll be leaving soon, but hopefully, she'll come back to visit next year.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mocha Meringues

Slightly Adapted from Butter Sugar Flour

Makes tons of it

Ingredients:

3 egg whites
180g granulated white sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp white vinegar (I used rice vinegar instead - they came out fine)
1 tsp corn starch
3 Tbsp ground coffee
handful of chocolate chips (optional)
dash of ground coffee (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 265 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Using a stand mixer, whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Start with a low setting and gradually increase its speed.
3. Slow down the mixer and slowly incorporate sugar. Turn the mixer back up again and continue whipping the egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form.
4. Slow down mixer and add cocoa powder, vanilla extract, vinegar, corn starch and ground coffee. Mix until combined.
5. For the pretty look, put the whipped egg whites into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe 1 inch mounds on the baking sheets. Have approximately 1.5 inches of space in between them. For a less work-intensive way, use a melon baller to scoop of mounds of meringue. If desired, use a toothpick to create decorative peaks.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.
7. Let cool.
8. If desired, melt chocolate chips in a small bowl and incorporate a dash of ground coffee in. Use the chocolate to sandwich the bases of two meringues together. Repeat with remaining meringues. Lick remaining chocolate off the bowl.