Chocolate Meringue Kisses

A kiss goes a long way, especially around Valentine's Day, and especially when it's flavored with chocolate. Shaped like the iconic Hershey Kiss, these airy, intensely chocolate meringues are partially coated in a shell of dark chocolate for a double dose of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate bliss.
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup Baker's Special Sugar
- 1/4 cup Dutch-process or natural cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 cups Valrhona Dark Chocolate or other good-quality dark chocolate, tempered (see below), for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Whip until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add the sugar, whipping until the mixture is stiff and glossy.
- Gently fold the sifted cocoa powder into the meringue until evenly incorporated.
- Fit a piping bag with a 1/2" or larger round tip and spoon the meringue into the bag.
- Position the tip and bag directly over the prepared pan, and pipe the meringues onto the parchment, leaving 1" of space between the meringues.
- Place the meringues into the preheated oven, then turn the oven off.
- Let the meringues sit in the oven (keep the door closed) overnight, or until the oven is completely cool.
- Remove the meringues from the oven.
- To temper the chocolate, place 1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) of chocolate in a temperer or in a double boiler and melt until completely smooth.
- Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and gradually stir in the remaining 1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate.
- Keep stirring until the chocolate is fully melted and warm to the touch; it should be between 86° and 88°F.
- To ensure that the chocolate is in temper, you can dip the tip of a knife into the bowl, and let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes. The chocolate should harden and become shiny.
- Dip half of each meringue into the chocolate, allowing the excess chocolate to drip, and return them to the parchment-lined baking sheet to set.
Tips from our bakers
- If you don't have access to piping bags and tips, you can drop the meringues by large teaspoonfuls onto the prepared pan.
- To learn more about tempering chocolate see our blog, Flourish.
Recommended For You
Reviews
This is a good recipe but they were a bit more chewy than I prefer.To make your meringues less chewy and more (pleasantly) dry, try extending the baking time with your next batch. You can try turning the temperature down to 300°F and then baking the meringues for about 15-20 minutes before turning the oven off and then letting them cool. This should help give you the texture you're looking for. Kye@KAF
Great recipe! Easy enough to make, and a great starting place for those with little to no experience with meringue. I used dark chocolate melting wafers for the chocolate coating, which do not require tempering.