Chewy German Chocolate Meringues

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the egg whites with the salt and beat on medium high speed until the egg whites thicken and begin to hold soft peaks. Increase the mixer speed to high and add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks; this should take about 5 minutes total. To make sure the sugar has completely dissolved, rub a bit of the meringue between your thumb and forefinger; if it feels gritty, beat the meringue 2-3 minutes longer until it is completely smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Remove the whisk attachment, add the pecans, coconut, chocolate and cocoa to the meringue, then gently fold all ingredients together using a clean rubber spatula. Transfer the meringue mixture to a large zip top bag, snip off one corner of the bag, and pipe the meringue onto the prepared baking sheets in dollops of about 2 tablespoons each, about an inch apart.

Bake the meringues for 1 hour. The meringues are done when they feel crisp on top when tapped – don’t judge doneness by the color as these meringues will appear darker from the cocoa powder and cracked from the coconut and pecans. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.