So this time I brushed up on my meringue skills using the Joy of Baking website. It's really the little things when making meringue. The cookies came out great this time!
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 6 T sugar (1/4 cup plus 2 T)
- 1/4 tsp stevia (I meant to use 1/4 tsp anyway... I don't know how much I really used)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- I beat the egg whites until they were frothy, then added the cream of tartar and beat until gentle peaks formed
- I gradually beat the sugar into the egg mixture until stiff peaks formed
- I would have added just a 1/4 tsp of stevia at this point, but my 18 mos old was sitting next to me and he yanked the lid off the jar spraying stevia everywhere--including into the mixing bowl. I just left it at that
- I slowly beat in the vanilla
- At this point, I divided the mix in half and piped the plain mixture onto parchment paper and put in the oven for 25 minutes at 300 degrees
- I folded the cocoa into the 2nd half and the mixture did start softening up a bit, but not as bad as last time
- I also piped the cocoa mixture onto parchment paper and baked for 25 minutes at 300 degrees
Vanilla Cookies: 45 calories per serving of 5 cookies (40 cookies per batch) vs 150 calories per serving for cookies made with sugar, Total Fat 0.0g, Sodium 21mg, Total Carbs 9.6g, Protein 1.4g
Chocolate Cookies: 60 calories per serving of 5 cookies (30 cookies per batch) vs 200 calories per serving for cookies made with sugar, Total Fat 0.1g, Sodium 28mg, Total Carbs 13g, Protein 1.9g
Thoughts: These came out sooooo much better than my first attempt. Oddly, my children preferred the vanilla batch. I think it was because of the sprinkles, but my oldest actually put his chocolate cookie down and said, "Mom, this tastes really bad." My second son finished them off though, so they must have been okay for him at least. I liked them. Oh, I should add that the chocolate cookies do deflate a bit when the cocoa is mixed in. They are softer and more pancake shaped vs. the Hershey Kiss shaped vanilla cookies.
I am going to consider these my "control" batch. For future attempts, I will gradually decrease the sugar until I find the minimum amount I can use and still have nice stiff peaks.
**Note to self: I made a meringue dessert today that used 4 egg whites and 1/3 cup sugar and it came out well. Next time maybe use 4 egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar).
Hello Heather! I am so happy I found your blog! I have been trying to make meringue cookies with stevia for awhile now and I just can't do it!! They keep coming out like styrofoam... and really gross. I'm going to try this recipe and I'll let you know how it turns out! Thanks so much! Have you tried using liquid stevia? Like the strawberry, chocolate or vanilla flavours? Do you think it would work as well? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI had a blog backslide for the past year, so I didn't notice this comment until now! I am shocked that someone found my blog!! That inspires me to get back to it and share the new stevia recipes I have tried.
ReplyDeleteIf your meringue failed in the past, it is probably because of the meringue to sugar ratio. You have to have some sugar for the meringue to "set". If you haven't read that Joy of Baking link above, please do, because it really explains the "science" behind meringue (like use cold steel bowls, room temp eggs, and cream of tartar).
Also, I have tried the NOW vanilla liquid drops and I don't care for them in coffee so I didn't even try to bake with them. I am soooo picky when it comes to sweeteners! I can't stand even the slightest aftertaste. So I am content to use the Kal stevia and just add liquid vanilla, cocoa powder, or fruit puree.
I am so glad you posted and I hope you are still around to read my reply!! I checked out your blog and it looks like we both fell off track last year! Maybe we both can get back to it! ;)
Hello, so you are able to use liquid stevia in place of the packet sugar for meringues right? :)
ReplyDeleteHello, thanks for commenting! I personally don't care for liquid stevia in anything. It would probably work though. You would only need a few drops, and I don't think a small amount of liquid would kill the meringue since vanilla doesn't. I would wait to add it until the end and add it with the vanilla.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I only use and can recommend Kal brand powdered stevia. You can buy it at Amazon or at health food stores. I have a picture of it on my first post if you want to see what it looks like. It doesn't have any aftertaste like the liquid stevia.
If you do try it though, let me know how it goes!