Paleo Meringue Cookies: Treats for Your Sweet Tooth

If there is something absolutely amazing with this caveman diet, it is that it still lets you enjoy your favorite desserts, like the Paleo meringue cookies. Yes, it is impossible to visualize those people during the Paleolithic age to be eating meringue cookies, but this does not mean that you should not either. That is just the beauty of it. Instead of living like cavemen, this diet brings the healthy diet of those days and adapts it to modern cooking. And although the connection has been established between Paleo diet and diabetes, with it helping you manage this disease, it does not mean that you cannot altogether enjoy a sweet treat once in a while. Since you must be salivating to try one of these Paleo desserts and serve it for your family this evening, here are four recipes that will soon be your favorites.

Basic Meringue Cookies

This recipe calls for only a couple of ingredients: egg whites and maple syrup. To be exact, you will need 4 egg whites and half a cup of maple syrup. Combine them in a pot and turn on the stove at low heat. As you do that, whisk the mixture with a hand mixer until you end up with stiff peaks. Remove from heat and transfer the mixture in a pastry bag. Pipe them in a baking sheet that has been lined with a parchment paper. Bake at 200^oF for two hours. Let it cool before serving. This recipe makes a hundred cookies, but less if you make larger meringues.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

Mix together 2 egg whites, a pinch of tartar, and a pinch of salt and beat with a hand mixer until you form soft peaks. Add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract and half a cup of maple syrup (gradually) while mixing all the while. You know you are done when the peaks become glossy and stiff. Transfer the mixture in your pastry bag or even any kind of plastic bag. Just cut a corner for piping out your meringue. Pipe out about 1 ½ inch diameter cookies on a parchment paper lined sheet. Top with mini chocolate chips and bake for 2 hours at 200^oF. Let it stay inside the oven as it cools down. It will gradually turn crispy and you can enjoy it then with your family.

Mocha Meringue

Many of you love the flavor of coffee in your desserts and this is one that offers you just that. Mixed with some dark chocolate, this recipe is just heaven on earth. To start, preheat your oven at 200^oF. Prepare your cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Now, whisk together 2 egg whites, 1/3 cup maple syrup, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Your end result must be soft peaks. Put this aside.

In a double boiler, dissolve half a teaspoon of instant coffee in a teaspoon of hot water. Add in three ounces of dark chocolate and a tablespoon of coconut butter. Let it melt and mix together until you have a smooth mixture. Drizzle some of this chocolate-coffee mixture in your egg whites, but do not mix. Just scoop that portion off the bowl and transfer it in your pastry bag. Repeat the process on remaining egg whites. You do not need to mix because you want your meringues to have streaks of mocha in it and not become a homogenous mixture. Pipe out the mixture on your cookie sheet and bake for about 2 hours. Let it cool in the oven for another hour before storing in a container or serving.

Dark Chocolate with Nuts

Here is another meringue recipe that is not just delicious but visually attractive as well. This can be your Paleo Christmas cookies because it will blend well with your fancy holiday dinner. Mix together two egg whites, half a cup of honey, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Place this bowl over a pot of simmering hot water, but avoid letting the hot water touch the bowl. Whisk the mixture until you form soft peaks. Remove this from heat and continue whisking using a hand mixer. Pour in 1 teaspoon of cold water while continuing beating the mixture until your peaks become glossy and stiff. Fold in half a cup of toasted and finely chopped nuts of your choice. You can use hazelnut, almonds, pecans, or cashews, let your imagination work. Pipe them in your cookie sheet using a pastry bag or you can simply scoop them using a tablespoon. Bake at 175^oF for one and a half hours then let it cool inside the oven for another hour. For the final touch, melt four ounces of dark chocolate in the microwave. Dip each meringue in it and then on some more nuts. Let the chocolate firm up and serve.

These Paleo meringue cookies are so easy to make and you do not have to feel any guilt as you enjoy them. As you can see, there was just a very simple substitution of using maple syrup or honey as sweetener instead of using refined sugar. That is it, and voila you can make various flavors and decorate your meringues to make them extra delectable.