Ingredients:
2 egg whites from 2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-2/3 cup sugar (depending on how much sweetness you can tolerate)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional; you can also use chocolate chips, walnuts, almonds, etc.)
1/2 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate chips
What to do...
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
2. In a stand mixer, beat egg whites until foamy.
3. Add salt. Continue beating at med-high speed until soft peaks form.
4. Add sugar gradually, one tablespoon at a time until all sugar has dissolved.
5. Continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. This can take up to 10 minutes.
6. Gently mix in coconut (or any desired chocolate chips or nuts).
7. Scoop batter into a piping bag or a plastic sandwich bag. Pipe 'swirly' circles on the baking pan. The cookies will not spread, so they can be close together.
8. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
9. Turn off the oven after an hour and keep cookies in the oven for another hour.
10. Place baking pan on a cool surface. To ensure that the cookies are ready, see if they easily peel off the parchment paper. If not, put them back in the oven until they easily come off the parchment paper.
11. Dip cooled meringue cookies into the melted chocolate and place on parchment paper.
12. Keep out until chocolate hardens.