Sugar-Free Chocolate Meringues

These do have that cooling effect in the mouth that comes from erythritol, but we love 'em nonetheless. This is my first try at chocolate meringues, hence the "#1" designation.

Chocolate Meringues #1

3 egg whites -- at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup erythritol
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 300. Line cookie sheet with baking parchment.

CAREFULLY separate your egg whites from the yolks. Separate each one into a custard cup, and only when you've done so successfully, dump it into your mixing bowl and do the next. The teeniest pinpoint speck of yolk will keep your whites from whipping. While you're at it, be very sure the bowl you're whipping them in is grease-free before you put the whites in it.

Okay, you've got your three egg whites in the mixing bowl. Add the cream of tartar and vanilla extract, and start beating them at high speed with an electric mixer. (Don't try to do this in your blender or food processor.) Whip till they form a soft peak when you lift the beaters out.

Keep whipping while slowly sprinking the erythritol in, a tablespoon at a time. Keep beating till they make a stiff peak when you lift the beaters out. Now sprinkle the cocao over the mixture and beat it in, then stop beating.

Spoon the meringue by the teaspoonful onto the baking parchment. They don't spread much, so space isn't a big deal. If you have a pastry bag, it's nice to use it with a star tip to make little meringue rosettes, but it's hardly essential.

Bake your meringues 30 minutes, then cool. Keep in a snap-top container.

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Assuming you get 50 meringues, each will have: 2 Calories; trace Fat; trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber