2 egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Cocoa powder for dusting
In a large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed, beat the egg
whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and increase
the speed
until soft peaks form. Start adding the sugar slowly.
Beat until
glossy stiff peaks form. Place the meringue in a large zip-lock
bag
and push the mixture toward one corner, folding the other corner
over, then twisting, allowing you to control the meringue.
Cut off just the very tip of the exposed corner so the meringue can exit
the bag. Then try it out by dotting four small beads of meringue
at the corners of a cookie sheet. Set a sheet of parchment paper
over the top; the meringue beads will provide a bond. Make the mushroom
caps by holding the bag over the parchment paper and push until a 1-inch
mound of meringue forms. Wet the tip of your finger with water and
gently round off and peaks to make a smooth surface. For mushroom
stems, form peaks on smaller mounds of meringue by
pulling the bag up and away from the surface as you push.
Place in
a 200 degree oven for 2 hours. Then turn off the heat and
leave in
the oven for 1 hour or overnight. The extra time allows the
meringue to dry. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe
dish
in the microwave for about one minute or until melted. Make
a hole
smaller than a pea in the bottom of a mushroom cap with a toothpick
or skewer. Dip the tip of the stem in the melted chocolate
and press
into the hole in the cap. Allow the chocolate to harden (it
only takes
a minute). Place the mushroom upright on its stem and dust
the cap
lightly with cocoa powder.