Whiteley Creek Homestead

On November 29, 2013, our youngest daughter took Dick and I to lunch at Star Provisions at Westside Urban Market 1198 Howell Mill Road Atlanta. When we returned to Atlanta the following spring, I flipped through the pages of a newspaper left behind on a bench outside a coffee shop. Featured in the food section of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, April 24, 2014 was a recipe from Star Provisions. I saved it. Fast forward eight months to December 2014. Christmas is a week away. I remembered the Star Provisions' recipe that I had saved from the newspaper… Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies. Reminiscent of fluffy mounds of snow, it would be a perfect winter cookie to send to my daughter in Atlanta… to remember the times we had spent together there. I got busy in my kitchen. She loved the cookie and the minimal ingredients and simple prep were a bonus.

The recipe makes 15 cookies using a two-tablespoon scoop. (I made 32 cookies using a one-tablespoon measuring spoon.) The recipe says to bake the cookies for 45 minutes at 200 degrees. I found that it took 1 hr 45 min for the egg whites inside the cookie to get done. Later, when I compared Star Provisions' directions to King Arthur Flour's Meringues, my baking time jived with KAF's recommendation. Here are KAF's baking instructions: "Place the meringues in the oven. After 30 minutes, reduce the oven heat to 225°F, and continue to bake for another 1 to 2 hours. For a meringue that's chewy on the inside after cooling (when you break it open, it will still be soft) bake for the shorter time (about 1 hour). When the cookie is finished its center will measure 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. For crunchy-all-the-way-through meringues, bake them for the longer time (about 2 hours). To test if they're done, pick one up; it should feel very light. Tap the bottom; it should feel hollow. Break one open; it should be dry. Taste the broken one while it's still warm; it should melt in your mouth. When the meringue is finished it should be almost white, with just a hint of color around the bottom. Turn off the oven, prop the door open and allow the meringues to cool on the pan in the oven for 30 minutes."