Forgotten Cookies
‘These little cookies – described by one friend as tasting like a cookie within a cookie – are really a mixture between a meringue and a cookie. They’ve become known at home – where they’re immensely popular – as Merookies, and are ideal with a cup of coffee after dinner. I always use readyground cardamom, as the amount you need is pretty much impossible to grind finely enough yourself (you’d need only ⅛tsp if using home-ground cardamom). And it is really worth seeking out mini chocolate chips, as I find regular-size ones can spill out of the cloud-like mixture as you form them on the baking sheet.
‘They are called “forgotten” as, just like the Forgotten Pudding in Nigella Express, they are not baked but put into a hot oven, which you immediately turn off, leaving the cookies to bake in the fading residual heat overnight. I find it all too easy actually to forget them, and always put a post-it sticker on the oven to remind me they’re in there, so I don’t burn them to a cinder by preheating the oven to cook something else in it the next day.’
Hands-on time 10min Cooking time about 12hr Makes 12-14 Merookies
2 large eggs, at room temperature, whites only A pinch of fine sea salt 100g (3½oz) caster sugar 1tsp cornflour 1tsp cider or white wine vinegar ¼tsp ground cardamom 75g (3oz) mini dark chocolate chips 75g (3oz) pistachios, finely chopped
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. In a grease-free bowl, whisk together the egg whites and salt until you have soft peaks. Whisk in the sugar a little at a time until thick and gleaming.
2 By hand, fold in the cornflour, vinegar and cardamom, then add the chocolate chips and most of the pistachios,
and very gently fold these in, too.
3 With a spoon, drop mounded blobs of the mixture, 4–5cm (1½-2in) diameter, on to a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Sprinkle with the remaining pistachios.
4 Put the cookies into the oven, shut the door and turn off the oven immediately. Let the cookies sit in the turned-off oven overnight.
GH TIP This method works very well with most standard ovens, but if you have a particularly high-spec model with a super-efficient cool-down system, this may not provide enough residual heat to fully cook the cookies. In this case we’d advise referring to your manufacturer’s manual for best baking guidelines – they will have a suitable function.