Edible Bones (Meringue and Chocolate Confection)

These edible bones are made of meringue and coated with white chocolate. They are perfect for Halloween parties or just a special treat for the Halloween season.

You will need:

• 1 cup of granulated sugar. If you don't have a food processor, you will need to use superfine sugar instead.
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 room-temperature egg whites
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 cup of white chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or shortening
• gallon size zip bag
• stand mixer (or hand mixer)
• cookie sheet
• parchment paper
• measuring cups and spoons
• microwave-safe bowl

Granulated sugar is too coarse to use when making meringue cookies. The end result would be gritty. Because I never have superfine sugar on hand, my food processor comes in handy.

Add 1 cup of granulated sugar to the food processor and process for 30 seconds. The end goal is to break up the sugar crystals a bit. Don't overdo the processing, or you will end up with powdered sugar.

Add your room-temperature egg whites to the stand mixer. Mix on medium until the eggs are foamy.

Add 1/2 tsp cream of tartar to the mixer. Mix on medium until soft peaks form. Soft peaks will make little shapes on the surface of the mixture but won't hold the shape indefinitely.

Add your processed cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract to the mixer while it runs on medium-high speed.

You will know it is done mixing when:

• the mixture forms stiff peaks the don't disappear
• when you rub a little of the mixture between your fingers, it should not feel gritty, but creamy.

If the mixture feels gritty or doesn't hold the peaks, keep on mixing.

Using a spatula, transfer the mixture from the mixing bowl to an open gallon-sized zip bag. You can put the bag in a bowl to prop it up while you do this.

Remove the air from the zip bag and zip it shut. Squeeze most of the mixture into one corner and snip off the of the bag with a pair of scissors.

Prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F

Pipe the bones onto the parchment paper.

First pipe a line. Then pipe two rounded spots at the end of each side of the log. Continuing piping until you have filled the sheet.

Don't worry if you have some imperfections. You can use a spoon to smooth the bones out after they have baked.

Bake the bones in your preheated oven for 1.5 hours. After the timer has gone off, turn off the oven and crack open the oven door. Let the cookies sit in the open oven for at least an hour, but longer is better. You can even leave them in overnight.

Once the cookies have cooled, they can be removed from the oven.

Using a spoon, gently smooth out your bones by rubbing away the rough edges and top. Be very gentle as the cookies can easily break. The end product should be quite smooth and ready to dip.

Place 1 cup of white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or shortening. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each time, until the mixture is smooth and all the pieces have melted.

One at a time, dip your bones gently into the melted chocolate. You might have to use a spoon to coat some of the parts that you miss.

Place the bones on a cookie sheet to dry. I used a cookie rack over a cookie sheet to catch the dripping chocolate.

The chocolate will set if you leave it out on the counter but you can also put the bones in the fridge to speed up the process. Beware, if you do this, they will stick to the pan. Just let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before you try to remove them.

Once the chocolate coating has dried, the bones are ready to eat! They will keep in an air-tight container on the counter for up to a week.