Stay Connected

Thursday, April 25, 2019

The Cheaper Chocolate Chip Cookie: Cocoa-Chocolate Chip Kisses


A while back, I mentioned that I needed to bring treats to our church's coffee hour at the end of the month. Well, here we are, last weekend of the month. When talking about running low on butter and oil, Kris suggested that I make meringues. Meringues are not only an excellent suggestion when thinking of baking with minimal fat, but they are super-duper frugal all around, comprised of sugar, egg whites, and flavorings of choice. Today, I'm baking cocoa-chocolate chip meringues. A batch of 2  1/2 dozen cost me about 55 cents, or 22 cents per dozen. That is about one-third of what I spend to make the traditional chocolate chip cookie. So, what accounts for the cost difference? Meringues have no butter, flour, salt, or baking soda, and less sugar. In addition, for this batch, I substituted chopped dipping chocolate for the chocolate chips.

Here's my sister-in-law's recipe that I use:

Gini's Cocoa-Chocolate Chip Kisses

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon chocolate jimmies/sprinkles (optional)

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment or foil.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, continuing to beat.
Add vanilla, reduce speed and add cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon at a time. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Optional - sprinkle the chocolate jimmies onto the mounds of meringue.

Bake for 1 hour. Do not open oven door. Turn oven off and dry the meringues in the oven for 2 additional hours.

Remove from parchment or foil and store in an airtight container. (Foil can be washed and reused, BTW.)


I was out of chocolate chips, so I turned to my supply of clearance-purchased dipping chocolate (the chocolate that I used to make the candy bunnies).


I paid $1.69 for a 16-oz package and used 1.75 ounces for today's batch of meringues. For price comparison, I normally pay about $2.50/lb for chocolate chips in a 12-oz bag. It should be noted, the dipping/coating chocolate is only a good deal when it's on clearance. If I had used store-brand chocolate chips, then my cost per 2  1/2 dozen batch would have been around 79 cents, or 31 cents per dozen, still about half of what traditional chocolate chip cookies (made with butter, flour, and brown sugar) would have cost.

Anyway, aside from the savings, these Cocoa-Chocolate Chip Kisses are a real winner.

I'll also be baking coconut meringues and cherry meringues for this weekend. For the coconut meringues, I follow the above directions and omit the cocoa powder, chocolate chips, vanilla, and chocolate jimmies, and include about 3/4 cup of shredded coconut and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. For the cherry meringues, I omit the cocoa powder, chocolate chips, vanilla, and chocolate jimmies, and include about 3/4 cup chopped candied cherries, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, and a bit of red food coloring. I'll post a photo when I bake those two.

13 comments:

  1. Ooh, yummy. The cherry meringues also sound delish--I would probably add cocoa powder to the meringues and include the candied cherries because chocolate/cherry is one of my all-time favorite combinations.

    I have taken meringues as a gluten-free dessert to friends who have celiac disease. I typically add chocolate chips to them and it's been a hit.

    I'm sure everyone in your church will enjoy your treats!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      My kitchen smelled like See's this morning. So tempting!
      What a wonderful dessert to bring to friends with celiac! I'm sure it gets frustrating for them trying to find sweets that okay.
      Thanks again for the suggestion of meringues. You saved my day!

      Delete
    2. I had to Google See's. We don't have that store here. I'm sure it was a wonderful scent wafting through your home.

      I've never tried making pavlovas, but I think the basic idea is a large flat meringue, some sort of whipped cream filling with fruit on top. LMK if you ever try that. It sounds like a great springtime dessert, doesn't it?

      Delete
    3. Kris, as I was typing my reply, I was wondering if you had See's in your area. In our area, they're a stand-alone chocolate shop. You walk into the shop and smell the chocolate distinctly. They give a free sample to everyone who comes in. So, in past years, if we've needed to pick up a box of chocolates to give as a gift to someone, we've encouraged the whole family to go with us to the shop, so we all get a sample. And by sample, I mean a whole chocolate. Quite a treat.

      I was thinking about something along the lines of pavlova for Mother's Day, making a meringue shell to fill with strawberries and whipped cream. I have some whipped cream in the freezer that needs using. I hope it hasn't begun to taste freezer-like. I'll test it out first, otherwise, I'll have to switch gears on this. I'll post if I make the shells. They're easy to do, but look so special.

      Delete
  2. Not only will they be delicious, they are very pretty cookies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I thought also!

      Shelby

      Delete
    2. Thank you, live and learn and Shelby.

      Delete
  3. They turned out so pretty, Lili. Good way to use up that melting chocolate. I have some left from Christmas that I've been using up too. I coated homemade granola bars in it the other day. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, those sound yummy, Belinda. That's a great idea for making a snack that is comparable or better than commercial ones.

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. These were so chocolate-y, Carol! I'll be making them again this month. Good way to stretch a little chocolate.

      Delete
  5. I guess I didn't catch on to a meringues dessert at first! Yes, cookies! Mom made these when I was a kid and I loved them. I made them for my kids when they were small and they still ask for these today. We like just plain egg white whipped but mini chocolate chips.

    Alice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      I think the mini chips would be good in these, as they would "spread out" the chocolate. Great idea!

      Delete

Thank you for joining the discussion today. Here at creative savv, we strive to maintain a respectful community centered around frugal living. Creative savv would like to continue to be a welcoming and safe place for discussion, and as such reserves the right to remove comments that are inappropriate for the conversation.

FOLLOW CREATIVE SAVV ON BLOGLOVIN'

Follow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be a voice that helps someone else on their frugal living journey

Are you interested in writing for creative savv?
What's your frugal story?

Do you have a favorite frugal recipe, special insight, DIY project, or tips that could make frugal living more do-able for someone else?

Creative savv is seeking new voices.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

share this post