Chocolate Meringue Cookies

These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are a terrific almost-no-fat treat to satisfy a chocoholic's craving for a quick hit.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen

INGREDIENTS
3 ounces (1/2 cup) semisweet chocolate morsels
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325°F

In a metal bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cool chocolate to room temperature.

With an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until frothy. Add cream of tartar, and whip to soft peaks. Continue beating, adding the sugar gradually, until the mixture just forms stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted from the bowl. Fold in the cocoa and melted chocolate. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a foil-covered baking sheet. Bake meringues for 13 to 15 minutes until the tops have cracked and the centers are fairly dry. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer meringues to a rack to finish cooling.

You can store these in an airtight container for 2 days, or freeze for up to 6 months between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container.

Nutritional Analysis per cookie: 27 calories; 23% calories from fat; 1 gram of fat; 9 milligrams of sodium

Source: Joan Lunden’s Healthy Cooking by Joan Lunden and Laura Morton