Meringue Ghosts

Total Time: 31 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 min

Ingredients

• 3 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 -24 miniature semisweet chocolate chips (very tiny pieces) or 16 -24 pieces semisweet chocolate (very tiny pieces)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 200 degrees.
• 2 line 2 baking sheets with cooking parchment, or butter havile and dust with flour.
• 3 in a deep bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on highest speed until they form a thick foam. continue beating, adding sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, every 30 seconds or so. whip until meringue hold very stiff peaks.
• 4 beat in vanilla. if using parchment, smear a little meringue on every corner to make it stick to baking sheets.
• 5 spoon meringue into a pastry bag, fitted with 1/2 in plain tip (or spoon into heavy duty plastic bag and snip one corner to make 1/2 in opening).
• 6 pipe meringue onto baking sheets into ghostly shapes, about 1/4 in-1/2 in thick , 2-4 in wide and 4-6 in long, spacing 2 inches apart. to make eyes (noses, mouths) press chocolate chips lightly into meringue.
• 7 bake in oven until meringues begin to turn pale gold and are firm to touch. 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours. switch pan positions halfway through baking. turn off heat and leave meringues in closed oven for an hour.
• 8 release ghosts with a spatula.