Why is it that there are so many dishes from my youth that I’ve never cooked? Like pasta with alfredo sauce, a dish that I requested my mom make for me for my ninth birthday. Or these cookies, playfully called “Forgotten Cookies”. Light and filled with chocolate chips, Forgotten Cookies are essentially meringues that are left in a warm oven for up to 12 hours. In elementary school, each of us was asked to write a book about ourselves. We could put anything in it. Stories about trips we’d taken with our families, what our favorite toys were, or what we wanted to be when we grew up. In my book, I talked about how much I loved to make these cookies with my mom and that, when I was older, I wanted to become a “chief”.
I believe that book is in a box somewhere in my parents’ attic. But I don’t need to see it to remember the drawing that my mom did of the cookies on the cover (I should add that my mom is a fantastic artist and that you can view her work by clicking here) or the recipe that I wrote down in big third grader block handwriting.
Despite their importance in my culinary development, for some reason I’d never made them… until last week, that is. The recipe consists of four ingredients: egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips. Simple, right?
Well, yes and no. I’ve never made meringue before, so when my mom wrote in the recipe, “Beat the egg whites until they have soft peaks,” I didn’t quite know what that meant. The egg whites would go in the mixer, I’d slowly pour the sugar in and a gooey liquid would form. Round two: eggs, sugar, gooey. So, I did a little search on Google and came across some videos of meringue being made. Each video showed the mixer blazing at full speed. I went back and took the second gooey batch and beat the heck out of it. Soon, I got a marshmallow-like consistency. “Ah ha,” I thought. “I think I understand what needs to happen.”
As they say, the third time’s a charm! I put the egg whites in, set the mixer to its highest setting, and slowly poured the sugar in. And I got it to form into meringue!
The point being, if you don’t succeed the first time, don’t get frustrated. There are so few ingredients in these cookies, it’s worth trying it a few times until it works.
Forgotten Cookies
(a note from my mom about this recipe: “I’ve also tried it a million ways….big cookies, little cookies, with chocolate in the batter (I melted the chips), other extracts, etc. The best cookies are smaller. Use the best vanilla extract…. and I like the cookies in the oven closer to the 12 hours. They seem to cook then dry out a big for a crunch. Oh, and it’s important to be sure that the egg whites are really soft, almost stiff. If not, the cookie doesn’t seem to hold up well. And the recipe cannot be doubled… I have no idea why. I tried that a few times and it never worked. The few times I needed a larger amount, I just made it twice.”)
Ingredients
2 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 to 3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsps. vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 to 3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsps. vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees for at least 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until they have soft peaks. Add the sugar gradually, then the vanilla.
Stop the mixer and stir in the chips and nuts with a spoon.
Drop the cookies onto greased cookie pans. Put the pans into the center of the hot oven but IMMEDIATELY turn the oven off.
Leave the cookies in the oven for at least 2 hours (up to 12 hours). DO NOT open the oven door during this time!
Then, remove the cookies. Store in an air-tight container and enjoy! These will also freeze well, in case you want to save some for a future date.
I am so glad you dredged these up from your memories! I wonder what other delicious recipes you have hiding in there….
I'm also thinking you need to make that alfredo sauce.
These are so cute and look incredibly good. The first time I had to make soft peaks out of eggs, I was completely lost as well. Thankfully my mom was there to straighten me out!
Your cookies look great! Even better than the ones I make. And do you want me to find that alfredo recipe???
I'd love the alfredo recipe… especially since Joanne requested it. Nothing like some heavy cream sauce on a hot summer day
The cookies were quite delicious and went very quickly. I'm tempted to try making the chocolate version you mentioned next time.
The cookies look awesome! I adore the any meringue cookies and this one with chocolate chips is even better!
There is a special place in my heart for ANYTHING that has chocolate chips. These look amazing!
I love your post, these are the best recipes, from child hood memories..i can see why you loved these..and wanted so bad to be a "chief",
sweetlife
Are you kidding? These look and sound amazing! I love recipes from childhood, so meaningful and often so tasty. Thanks for sharing!
http://anecdotesandapples.weebly.com
Hey Brian, I love the look of these too! And I might make them soon. Do you think one could make these without sugar's crystal like structure. Like with agave? Hmm?
Hi Stella!
I'm always interested to see if an ingredient can be substituted for another. In this case, though, I'm not sure what would happen. The meringue would most likely form, but I'd be afraid that it wouldn't keep it's shape for long, especially in a warm oven for 12 hours.
With that being said, it might be worth a shot. Again, there aren't many ingredients in the recipe, so you could easily try it again if it didn't work out.
I'd love to hear how it works out!
-Brian
First of all I checked out your mom's website and loved what I saw: you are right she is a fantastic artist; I have the utmost respect for people who can master watercolor and use it to convey atmosphere and she can do it.
I loved the story of you as a little boy wanting to be a "chief"; how cute! you really ought to find that notebook with your 9 year old scribbles, it would be so fun to include a scanned photo of your handwritten recipe! So you really have been in the food realm all your life, no kidding!
That cookie is great; meringues are tricky but not impossible to master.