Chocolate-Peanut Meringue Kisses from Everyday Food Magazine

Everyday Food Magazine
a.k.a. happiness in my mailbox :)

One thing that can brighten my day is when the mailman delivers the latest issue of a favorite magazine right to my mailbox. About three weeks ago, I posted a good mail day photo of the April 2012 issue of Everyday Food Magazine on instagram [I'm attempting a Project 365 this year and find myself taking the most random photos..] to which Lisa H. replied that she just got hers, too! How fun to learn that we get the same magazine! We thought it would be fun to each pick a recipe to prepare and then share together on our respective Weekend Cooking posts. Lisa emailed me earlier this week and told me she was preparing a pasta dish, so I decided on dessert. Kind of like a potluck meal between friends. So what if there's 1500+ miles [2400 km] between us, right? It's possible Lisa may not get her weekend cooking post up this weekend. If that's the case, I may have to consider making another dessert recipe from the magazine for next weekend [Oh the hardship!] because these meringues won't last until dinner next weekend. ;-)

The recipe I chose to make is for Chocolate-Peanut Meringue Kisses.
Why did I choose this recipe?

1. My daughters and I love meringues. My husband is probably so-so about them but since these had chocolate and nuts in them, I knew he'd love 'em.
2. I've never made meringues before, so welcomed the opportunity to try something new.
3. I had all the ingredients on hand.
4. They're a low calorie treat that I can fit into my day without too much guilt.

Below is the recipe from the April 2012 issue of Everyday Food Magazine. The photos are my own and I the text in green are my personal contributions to the instructions.

Chocolate-Peanut Meringue Kisses

Chocolate-Peanut Meringue Kisses

TIP: For Passover, swap 3/4 cup superfine sugar and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice for confectioners' sugar. Bake 5 minutes more. 

2 large egg whites

1 cup confectioners' sugar

fine salt

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 ounces roasted salted peanuts, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips

ingredients for chocolate-peanut meringue kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Note that oven temperatures vary. Halfway through the first batch, I lowered my oven to 300 F because I thought the meringues were browning too quickly at 350 F. The second batch yielded better results. 


For lovers of fun kitchen gadgets, this is the time to put that cute little egg separator to use. Hang it on the side of a medium heatproof bowl and crack the eggs into the separator. The whites slide into the bowl and the yolk stays in the separator. Gently pour the yolk into a clean jar or small bowl to save for a different use. I cover the yolks with water and store in the refrigerator for day or two. 

egg separator

 yolk separated from white

 2. In a medium heatproof bowl, combine egg whites, confectioners' sugar and a pinch of salt. Set bowl over (not in) a pot of barely simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is warm and frothy and the sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.

whisk over heat until mixture is frothy

3. Remove bowl from heat and, using an electric mixer, beat mixture on high until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 3 minutes. This took closer to 5 minutes for me. 

beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form

4. Beat in vanilla, then fold in peanuts and chocolate.

add finely chopped peanuts and
mini chocolate chips to meringue

gently fold nuts and chocolate
chips until evenly distributed

5. Transfer mixture to a quart-size zip-top bag; with scissors, cut a 3/4-inch hole in one corner.

6. Pipe 30 mounds (1 inch tall and 1 1/2 inches wide), 1-inch apart, on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet.

pipe mounds of 1" x 1.5" mounds of meringue 1" apart
on parchment lined baking sheets

7. Bake, using the handle of a wooden spoon to keep oven door slightly ajar, until dry to the touch, about 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.

8. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack before peeling off parchment. Store in a single layer in airtight containers, up to 2 days).

a chocolate-peanut meringue kiss  xoxo

Makes 30 kisses

Nutritional information for 3 kisses:  74 cal; 3 g fat (1.5 g sat fat); 1.7 g protein; 11 g carb; 0.7 g fiber.


Do you like meringues? What's your favorite flavor? 


Have you ever made homemade meringues? Any additional tips for making meringues at home?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Weekend Cooking, a weekly blog event hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food related post to share--a food related book review (fiction or nonfiction), cookbook review, movie review, a recipe, random thoughts, gadgets, food quotations, photographs, etc. Please visit Beth's blog for more information and join the fun! 


Note: your post does not have to be posted on the weekend, but do visit Beth's blog over the weekend to link up your post.