Meringue Kisses..No Promises

So these are still a work in progress. I am a newbie to meringue cookies. The only batch I ever tried came out like a gooey mess. These have the opposite problem. They got a little too dry and crackly. Is that a word? Not sure, but accurate none the less.

I have to admit, I did mess up the original recipe a bit, and had to tweak it to cover my mistake. But then, I was substituting anyway, so who knows. I will try to duplicate this effort to make sure it works and bake it a much shorter time. I know meringues can vary with the weather too, and are known to be temperamental, so I hesitate to assure you of my technique. I do think the shortened baking time will fix my problem. Various recipes online have very different cooking and drying times, so I need to experiment to see what works with my oven and the weather on a particular day. I know the additions I added make these light little treats tastier! Added to that, they aren't difficult or expensive to play around with the recipe. Some shaved unsweetened chocolate and chopped nuts just might be my next effort.

Meringue Kisses

6 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
2/3 cup Splenda
1 individual serving Stevia (whatever measurement is equivalent for your favorite form, as it varies greatly)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons PB2 powdered peanut butter (may be optional)
1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter
2 Tablespoons sugarfree chocolate syrup


Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy. Blend in vanilla and Splenda and stevia 2 Tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition. Beat until stiff peaks form. Remove about a cup of meringue and set aside. To the remaining, use a spatula to gently stir in cocoa powder and powdered peanut butter. When mixed, add back the plain meringue being careful not to over stir.

Drop by spoonful onto parchment paper, making a kiss shape on the top. Bake at 300 for about 20 minutes. If meringue seems firm to the touch, remove from oven and allow the cookies to cool thoroughly on the parchment paper.

After cooling the kisses, prepare the topping. Stir together the peanut butter and the chocolate syrup in a very small container. Dip the points of the kisses into the topping. If the topping is too thick, warm it a bit in the microwave.

I will keep working on the meringue recipe, but first my hubby needs to eat these up!