The magic of “forgotten cookies” begins as soon as they’re placed into a preheated oven and the oven is immediately turned off. This is followed by the most important step: the cookies are forgotten! Because the cookies bake slowly using the residual heat of the oven, the busy baker can go about their errands, finish the workday, or nestle into bed without having to worry about setting timers or leaving the oven on. Once the oven is opened again, the most perfect meringue-like cookies await. Lighter than air, with a chewy yet crisp consistency, these Chocolate-Orange-Pistachio Forgotten Cookies receive an addition of chocolate chips, salted pistachios, and orange zest for extra flavor and texture.
Chocolate-Orange-Pistachio Forgotten Cookies
Makes about 15 cookies
Ingredients
- ÂĽ cup (60 grams) egg whites, room temperature about 2 large egg whites)
- â…› teaspoon cream of tartar
- â…› teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 grams) castor sugar
- ½ cup (84 grams) mini 60% cacao semisweet chocolate chips
- ÂĽ cup (36 grams) finely chopped roasted salted pistachios
- ½ teaspoon (3 grams) vanilla bean paste
- ÂĽ teaspoon (1 gram) tightly packed orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt at medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar in a slow, steady stream, beating until glossy stiff peaks form and stopping to scrape sides of bowl, if necessary. Gently fold in chocolate chips, pistachios, vanilla bean paste, and orange zest just until combined.
- Using 2 regular-size spoons, scoop egg white mixture into 15 (1½-to 2-inch-wide) dollops (about 18 grams each), spacing at least ¾ to 1 inch apart on prepared pan; using the back of a spoon, swirl and swoop dollops as desired.
- Place pan in oven; immediately turn oven off, and leave cookies in oven with door closed for at least 8 hours. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
Resist the urge to open the oven before the cookies are finished, as this will allow the heat to escape. After 8 hours, these cookies can remain in the cold oven for several more hours until you are ready to enjoy them. After about 12 hours, you’ll want to place the cookies in an airtight container to prevent any softening caused by the humidity in the air.
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I made these yesterday (to the letter) and while they have great flavor, they were not chewy in the center. I decided that the kitchen aid bowl was too big to sufficiently whip 2 egg whites. Repeated the recipe today using the whip on my hand mixer and had what I thought was a much better meringue. Just pulled then from the oven. Again very crispy. My oven is properly calibrated. Any ideas????
Hi Felicia,
Thanks for reaching out! If you are weighing your ingredients and your oven temperature is calibrated, the next thing that I might recommend is taking them out of the oven earlier. We tested them from 5 hours to 12 hours, and the longer they were in the oven, the crispier they became! It really is a matter of taste preference. If you want to keep them in the oven a longer time (while you are away) and still get a chewier cookie, then you may be able to reduce the oven temperature and try 325 F.
I baked them today, leaving them for five hours in the oven and they were a lovely balance of crispy exterior and soft chewy interior! I also made them slightly smaller, with a yield of 24 cookies.
Since coming across this recipe in your magazine I’ve made them three times. Absolutely delicious!
Hi Glenda!
I am thrilled that you love this recipe! Thanks for reaching out 🙂
I stay in a coastal place hence the humidity is very very high all through the year…but would still like to .are some meringue cookies. Is there any ingredient that I can add to make them less hygroscopic?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out! I think that you might find that these cookies have a crave-able texture, even when they are a little soft and chewy. If you do like more crunch, try folding in one teaspoon to one tablespoon of cornstarch (sifting over the meringue before adding chocolate and nuts) to adsorb moisture and prevent weepy meringue. Let us know how they turn out if you choose sans cornstarch or if you decide to add some. Happy baking!
Could the egg whites be replaced with aquafaba to make these vegan?
Hi Elisa,
We haven’t tried this before, but if you do give it a go, let us know how it comes out!
After 2 failed attempts using my kitchen aid professional stand mixer, I was clearly disappointed with this recipe. I am a seasoned baker , so I was stumped why my egg whites just wouldn’t whip up. I refuse to be beaten, so today I made the recipe for the third time but I was using my hand mixer. In less than 5 minutes my egg whites were perfect . I added the salt & cream of tarter after about 1 minute. The cookies stayed in the oven 7 hours and they are delicious. Subtle orange, more pronounced chocolate & pistachio flavor with a nice crisp. I will definitely make these again & happy that I figured out that a hand mixer is the correct way to whip the whites. With such a small volume 1/4 cup of egg whites, the stand mixer was just too big to whip properly.
I have made these 3 times and everytime they have been fantastic, I love the texture and flavors! I believe these could be my new favorite!