These Melting Chocolate Meringues from Alice Medrich's cookbook Bittersweet consist of egg whites, melted chocolate and sugar. Light and decadent, meringues are one of those French delicacies that are surprisingly simple. Once you've made them, you'll wonder why you didn't add them to your repertoire sooner. Makes twenty cookies.

Ingredients:

6 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 cup of sugar
1/8 tsp of cream of tartar
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
parchment paper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt bittersweet or semisweet coarsely chopped chocolate in a medium saucepan and over low heat and set aside.

In a large bowl using your electric mixer, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla extract until foamy/frothy and soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and whip until the peaks are stiff, but not dry. Fold in the melted chocolate.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoon on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine cocoa and cinnamon. Using a sieve or a sifter, sprinkle mixture over the non-baked cookies. The finished cookies will have a crisp, crackled surface. Store in an airtight container.