Hazelnut Meringue Cookies

​These are not your usual meringue cookies. They are delicate, dense, frothy and chewy, more like a macaroon. My French girlfriend calls them macaroons. Over the years, I have reduced the amount of sugar in them, so do not put less sugar than is in this recipe.

I played with the topping and this time I added chocolate chips. A whole hazelnut is another option. The ground hazelnuts provide a distinctive nutty flavor. You could also substitute ground almond meal, available at Trader Joe's. Since I have never made them with ground almonds, let me know how they taste.

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These cookies are easy to make and will last for a week—and they are gluten free! ​

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Ingredients: 
(Makes 35 to 40 cookies)

2 cookie sheets
Parchment Paper

2 1/2 cups hazelnuts (12 ounces ) 
1 cup fine sugar
3 egg whites
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Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit and roast the Hazelnuts on a cookie sheet for about 10 to 15 minutes. A light golden brown is all you want them to be, otherwise they will turn bitter. Immediately after removing them from the oven rub them in a kitchen towel to remove the skin. Put the peeled nuts in a bowl and roast the nuts where the skin did not come off for a couple more minutes and rub them in a towel again. Not all the skin will come off. The peeled nuts make a great snack and taste fabulous in salads, so roast some extra. Grind the nuts in a food processor but be careful not to turn them into nut butter.

Beat the egg whites in a stand up mixer until stiff, slowly add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture becomes glossy, a minute or so. Add the ground hazelnut and mix well. Use two spoons to put the dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper that has been sprayed with canola oil. You will have two baking sheets of cookies.  Add a hazelnut on top of the cookies. Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes at 325°  Fahrenheit  in the middle of the oven. Loosen the cookies from the paper after they have cooled for a minute or so. 

Guten Appetit!
Recipe © Sunnycovechef.com