Cherry chocolate chip meringue cookies are sweet, slightly tart, and speckled with tiny bits of chocolate. If you enjoy the ice cream of the same flavor, these cookies will be a delightful match.
Sometimes it’s a challenge to find new recipes to share. I fall into easy routines at home—herbed chicken and steamable vegetables become the default. This idea, though, started in an unlikely place: the grocery store ice cream aisle. Torn between cookie dough and cherry chip flavors, I thought, “Why not make cherry chip cookies?” That question turned into these meringue cookies.
Bringing this recipe to life took a bit of effort because freeze-dried cherries are surprisingly hard to find locally. I checked multiple grocery stores and a specialty market, scanning snack aisles, canned fruit, produce, and bulk bins—without luck. They are available online, but shipping can be expensive unless you have a subscription service that reduces costs. A friend with such an account kindly ordered a bag and sent it my way, and that’s how these cookies came to be.
Meringue itself is simple in principle but demands attention to detail. Cleanliness and dryness matter: be sure your mixing bowl and whisk are spotless and completely dry. Use egg whites at room temperature for the best volume—cold whites whip up to less volume and can lead to a weaker meringue.
As you whip the whites you’ll notice three stages: soft peaks, medium peaks, and stiff peaks. For these cookies, aim for stiff peaks—when you lift the whisk, the peaks should stand up without collapsing.
Humidity is the meringue’s enemy. Avoid making them on humid or rainy days when possible: meringues need to dry in the oven to stay crisp, and high humidity prevents proper drying. If you don’t have a pastry bag with a large round tip, a medium cookie scoop or a tablespoon will work to form the cookies.
Cherry Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 oz freeze-dried cherries
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- Pinch of table salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F (about 95°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the freeze-dried cherries in a mini food processor and pulse until they form a fine powder.
- In a clean, dry bowl, combine the room-temperature egg whites with a pinch of salt. Whisk on high speed until foamy.
- Gradually add the sugar, then the vanilla. Continue whipping on high speed until glossy, stiff peaks form and the peaks hold their shape when the whisk is lifted.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer. Sift the cherry powder over the meringue, discarding any large pieces left in the sifter. Gently fold the cherry powder in until no white streaks remain, then fold in the mini chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Transfer the meringue to a large pastry bag fitted with a wide round tip and pipe walnut-sized mounds onto the prepared sheets. If you don’t have a bag, use a medium cookie scoop or spoon to drop mounds onto the parchment.
- Bake for 1 hour. After the first hour, rotate each sheet 180 degrees and swap their oven positions (top to bottom). Bake for another hour, or until the cookies lift easily from the parchment.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
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An original recipe by The Redhead Baker