Chocolate Almond Meringues (You MUST try these! EASY and Diabetic-Friendly too!)

Have I mentioned that I am pregnant?  And by pregnant I mean I am 39 weeks into a very difficult pregnancy and I am just SO ready to be done being pregnant. 

Well, I had the idea to bring goodies to my ob-gyn's office this past Monday to perhaps "bribe" him into helping things along, or inducing me...or anything really!  Sounds like a good idea right?  It can't hurt in any case.  Some people try walking or castor oil to help induce pregnancy, I bribe my ob-gyn with goodies! 

However, my ob-gyn is diabetic, and not being diabetic myself or having anyone in my family with diabetes, I had no clue where to begin!  So I went searching for a recipe that was both diabetic-friendly and that didn't include me needing to waddle to the grocery store to pick up ingredients.

Enter...Chocolate Almond Meringues!!!

Update:  Baby boy decided to make an early arrival early on Monday morning!  I  never made it to my dr's apt.  The fabulous nurses at the hospital where I delivered enjoyed the meringues instead! 

To be honest, I have never made meringues.  They scare me slightly.  But I have always wanted to attempt to make them so this gave me the perfect opportunity to try them.   

I found this recipe from the Diabetic Gourmet Magazine website and it looks yummy, simple and I had all the ingredients I needed to make them!  Hurray!

Chocolate Almond Meringues (diabetic-friendly)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup sugar (divided: 2 tablespoons and then the remaining portion)
• ¼ cup ground almonds
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 egg whites
• ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

1. 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F
   2. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray
   3. In a small bowl, mix:

1. 1. • 2 tablespoons sugar
      • almonds
      • cocoa
      • cornstarch

1. 1. In a stainless or glass bowl (I used my Kitchen Aid), beat egg whites until frothy
   2. Add cream of tarter to eggs and beat on high until soft peaks form
   3. Gradually add in vanilla and remaining sugar portion
   4. Beat until stiff and shiny 

1. 1. Gently fold cocoa mixture into meringue mixture
   2. I used a pastry bag and a large tip and piped the meringues onto the foil-lined baking sheet.  You can also use a spoon and just drop small mounds onto the baking sheet.

1. 1. Bake at 250 degrees F for 40 minutes.  Meringues will be dry and slightly browned.

1. Cool completely
2. Store in an air tight container (if you can't help eating them all right away 🙂

Yield: about 2.5 dozen cookies
Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories:  18
Sodium:  7 mg
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Fat:  0.3 g
Carbohydrates:  4 g
Exchanges:  ¼ bread or starch