Sweet Chocolate Filled Raspberry Meringue Kisses

raspberry filled bites

Ingredients

4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon raspberry extract (or another flavor, if preferred)
Food coloring, optional
1/4 to 1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Place chocolate chips about 1 1/2- to 2-inches apart on the sheet.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Place the bowl on top of a medium sauce pan filled with a couple of inches of barely simmering water and set over medium heat. Gently whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the standing mixer (if you’re not using a standing mixer, just remove the bowl from heat and use a hand mixer), and whisk the mixture on high until stiff peaks form. Gently stir in the extract and food coloring, if using.

Fit a pastry bag with a Wilton star tip (or comparable), fill with the meringue, and pipe small (3/4-inch-high) star shapes onto prepared baking sheets, centering each star on top of a chocolate chip. Refill bag as necessary.

Bake cookies until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.