Meringues/ Macaroons Cocoa Style

A while ago did a post on Meringues. This is a revision of the same recipe.

I had some left over egg whites, which had been frozen. I defrosted them again to use for meringues. Egg whites are easy to freeze and save for a later use. Just make sure that they are at room temperature for meringues.


I wanted to add a new twist to these so I added cocoa to half of the meringes. It did go a bit more watery (flat), but they cooked fine.

And the final outcome?

I would definetly make these again with cocoa. Cocoa is a good idea.

mmmm, those would be good with chocolate on top

This is yet another recipe from Nourishing Traditions. Before my days of eating well, on occasion I would make meringues, that nice soft, yet crunching, melt in your mouth sweetness. I found such a recipe in Nourishing Traditions and couldn't wait to try it out.

In NT, this appears as Macaroons. However, Macaroons to me is unbaked cocoa cookies (and I have made those too!).

Apparently this makes 2 dozen, but we ate them too fast to count.

4 egg whites
pinch sea salt
2 tablespoons arrowroot
1/2 cup agave (originally calls for maple syrup, but that's so expensive here)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups unsweetened diced coconut

Line a baking sheet with buttered parchment paper.
Beat egg whites with salt in a clean bowl until they form stiff peaks. Beat in arrowroot and slowly beat in syrup and vanilla. Fold in coconut. Drop by spoonfuls on parchment paper. Bake at 300 F for about 1/2 hour or until lightly browned. Reduce oven to 200 F and bake another hour or so until macaroons are completely dry and crisp. Let cool completely before removing from paper. Store in airtight container. (Here in Tasmania, these get soggy very quickly if not in the fridge - it's very moist here.)

As you can see in the picture some of the agave ran out. It made an extra bonus of toffee, but that was a happy accident. Next time I made the Meringues recipe and it turned out better - also used less agave and was still just as good.

Meringues

6 egg whites
pinch sea salt
3 tablespoons arrowroot
1/4 cup agave (maple syrup)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Line a cookie sheet with buttered parchment paper. Beat egg whites with salt until they form stiff peaks. Beat in arrowroot. Slowly add agave and vanilla, beating constantly. (Continue as above or go on to make nice little meringue cups for fruit).
Cook overnight at about 150 F. Let cool before removing from paper.

Of course I had one right away - before it cooled completely. Very good. However, looking at it again, I thought, "Boy, these would be good with chocolate on top." And that's just what I did.

Yummm!

The Molasses Cookie

MMMM...the molasses cookie...
a completely made up recipe which I use as a source of fiber. My naturopath told me to take 1-2 tablespoons of ground flax daily, plus a tablespoon of black-strap molasses daily. I often forget to do the ground flax in water, and I don't like taking right before bed as then I have to use to bathroom in the middle of the night and that was the time that I would usually remember. The molasses...a cookie sounded good for an intake of molasses. So thus, the molasses cookie was born.

Since it is completely made up I have done a number of variations on it. I've added coconut milk, or used 1 cup oat bran and 3/4 cup brown rice flour in place of all the rice flour (the best variation in my opinion). Many people also don't like the overwhelming molasses taste and have lessened it considerably when making these cookies with these people in mind. I, however, really enjoy a good serving of molasses.

If you don't have an ingredient, that's fine. Substitute whatever you need to. (I currently don't have coconut oil, and I found that it really doesn't make a difference). Also I never measure spices, so these are just a guideline.

In a bowl combine;

1 cup ground flax
1 1/2 cup brown rice flour (blend rice in blender/ coffee grinder)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

add;

3 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp liquid Stevia
3/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup water

Mix all together. If too watery, or if you like a dryer cookie, add oats, or more flour. Place in spoonfuls on a stainless steal cookie sheet, or a stone or something that's not teflon or aluminium. You do not need to grease the pan.

Cook at 350 F for 15 min or so. (Depending on how I change the recipe the time varies a lot).

The flax nutrition is mainly lost in cooking. If you want flax for it's omega-3 oils, then you'd better have it raw. For this purpose, however, I was more interested in fiber.

Be sure to drink lots of water! Your body needs good old fashioned water to work with the fiber to aid elimination. A very common reason why people are constipated is simply because they do not drink enough water, and especially if you are taking something like flax or psyllium, added water will help things along. A good "calculator" of how much water you need is to take half of your body weight (in pounds) and that is how many ounces of water you should have daily. But don't drink all at once, spread it throughout the day.

Enjoy!