Meringue Mushrooms
Whipped egg whites and sugar bake into crisp, airy meringue caps and stems. Assembled with melted chocolate and lightly shaded with cocoa, these woodland cookies are ready in 2 hours 15 minutes.
Equipment
- A large cookie sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Wilton 2A tip with a piping bag
- Mixer with a whisk attachment
- Small paring knife
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites (room temp (if you forgot, put them in warm water for 15 min))
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (melted)
- A large cookie sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Wilton 2A tip with a piping bag (or use a big ziploc bag and a 3/8″ round hole cut in the corner, it just won't be as easy to pipe.)
Instructions
Prep: Preheat Oven to 200° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (not wax paper).
- Whisk the 2 egg whites, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp cream of tartar together on high speed for about 7 minutes, continuing until the mixture holds its shape. Look for a shiny foam that leaves ribbons behind the whisk and forms fairly stiff peaks.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a 3/8-inch round tip, then pipe the caps about 1 inch apart with bases approximately 1 1/2 inches across, sweeping the tip sideways to finish each top. A rounded dome is the goal, and a wet fingertip can gently flatten any remaining point.
- Pipe the stems with bases approximately 3/4 inch across, making them narrower and taller than the caps. Each stem should taper upward to a pointed tip.
- Bake the pieces at 200°F for 1 hour 30 minutes, checking that they release readily from the parchment. The outside should feel crisp, although the center may still have a slightly soft, marshmallow-like texture.
- Lift the parchment and cookies off the hot baking sheet and let them reach room temperature on the paper. The meringues will firm throughout as they cool completely.
- Lightly dust the cooled caps and stems with cocoa, optionally rubbing it with your fingertips, then use a small paring knife to make a recess in the center of each cap's underside. Keep each opening just large enough to receive a stem tip, with only a light cocoa shading on the surface.
- Melt the chocolate chips, spoon the chocolate into a zip-top bag, snip a tiny opening in one corner, and squeeze chocolate into each cap recess before inserting a stem. Rest the mushrooms upside down on their caps until the chocolate becomes firm and holds the stems in place.
- Move the assembled mushrooms gently into an airtight container and keep them at room temperature rather than refrigerating them. The chocolate joints should be fully set before you handle the finished cookies.
Notes
Ingredient tip: Start with a clean bowl and whisk, and keep all egg yolk out of the whites so the foam whips properly. If your eggs are cold, warm the whole intact eggs in warm water for 15 minutes before separating.
Doneness: Check that the baked pieces release cleanly from the parchment paper. The centers may still feel slightly marshmallow-like while warm, so let them cool completely on the paper to firm throughout.
Assembly tip: Rest the assembled mushrooms upside down on their caps while the melted chocolate hardens so the stems stay straight and do not lean sideways.
Storage: Store finished mushrooms in a tightly closed airtight container at room temperature once the chocolate joints are set. Do not refrigerate them.
Nutrition information is an estimate based on common ingredients and serving sizes. Values may vary depending on brands, portions, and substitutions.