Baile la meringue

In my high school, the Spanish teachers were, by and large, insane. I'm not kidding. My freshman year teacher was the kind of crazy that made you laugh awkwardly in class and then drunkenly imitated on the weekends. My junior year teacher was the kind of crazy that made you understand why electroshock therapy was legal for so long. Freshman year, Senora B would dance around the classroom singing, "Baile la merengue, baile la merengue, PARA!" Which translates to: dance the merengue, dance the merengue, STOP. Go figure. While I cannot advocate for her sanity nor her dancing skills, meringues (the cookie, not the dance) are truly delicious. The storebought ones usually suck because they are mass produced and thus chalky, flavorless bricks that take a long time to bite into and then dissolve instantly. Homemade meringues are a totally different animal: crisp and chewy on the outside, pillowy on the inside. Little clouds of happiness that can't possibly have any calories in them so it's totally chill to eat like, 34 or so in one sitting. This recipe is essentially a basic chocolate meringue plus toasted coconut and mini chocolate chips folded in. That's another thing: meringues are mad versatile. White chocolate chips, butter scotch chips, toasted coconut, mint extract, blah blah blah. You can add almost anything except for things like jam and fresh herbs which would be weird. Traditional meringues are flavored only with no mix-ins (which compromise the cloud-like texture) but traditions are for weenies.

Aside: Sorry about the shitty picture; I took this at work when I realized that in approximately 3 minutes there wouldn't be any meringues left to photograph.


Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup toasted sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Spread the coconut in a small pan over medium heat and stir constantly for 3 or 4 minutes until golden brown and very fragrant. Your kitchen should smell tropical as shit.
3. Combine egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla. Beat until the whites form soft peaks. Slowly add sugar; beat until stiff peaks form, and mixture becomes glossy. Fold in cocoa and chocolate chips.
4. Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls on to a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.