These are referred to as “Nitey Night Cookies” because you can put them in a preheated, but off, oven overnight and they will be ready when you wake up! When I was a child, my mother used to make these for me, and I thought it was so much fun.
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 1 dozen |
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a prepared cookie sheet. Put cookies into the preheated oven and turn off the oven, keeping the door shut. Do not open the door until the next morning. Then the cookies should be done. It is best to do this at bedtime so the waiting is easier.
Reviews
This was ridiculously easy & such a delight to wake up to! I added a teaspoon of vanilla & it is so tasty!
In order for these cookies to come out perfect, avoid making meringue on humid days. The sugar in the delicate egg-white mixture readily absorbs moisture from the air, which makes it soft and impossible to achieve thick, stiff peaks. Humidity may also cause some soft meringues to weep or crisp meringues to soften once baked. So before making these, get the local forecast.
Very useful tip…use parchment paper…this is a soft meringue cookie. I mixed a few types of nuts based on what I had. But very easy and delicious.
Followed exactly. My eggs were not fresh and I took them from the refrigerator and separated and then let get to room temperature. I used my Kitchen-Aide mixer at level 8 to get the soft peaks. I then slowly added the sugar still at level 8. Then added the pecans and the mini semi-chocolate chips at the stir level very briefly. perfect. Crunchy and airy. Will make them again and again!
To be fair, the 3 star rating was in large part to my bad substitutions. I will try again with just the mini chips and nuts. Left out the nuts because of allergies and added flavored extracts to make them more interesting. Not a good substitution. Tried one batch with raspberry flavor & one with peppermint. The super sweet cookie paired with the flavoring was just too much. Would try the recipe again with 1/2 cup sugar, no extract and with the nuts. Also used chuck chocolate chips – needed dairy free chocolate and those were the only ones I could find. The chunks were way to big for this delicate cookie. Would go with the mini chips next time (and only 1/2 to 3/4 cup). Also, if you do want to experiment with extracts for flavoring, add it AFTER you incorporate all the sugar. If you add the extract to just the egg white, you won’t get the to “stiff peak” consistency no matter how much you beat the batter. The cookies will still cook, they just will look like flat blobs rather than little cookie boulders.
Easy recipe! I have been making these cookies for years as they are a family tradition. Just be sure to GRADUALLY add the sugar. Let it beat in completely before adding any more.
use less sugar – a little too sweet
These are the cutest little bites! After reading reviews, I used these tips: egg whites should be at room temperature, add the sugar (only 1/2 cup) slowly, making sure to incorporate fully, line pan with parchment paper, preheat oven to 425 (instead of 350) before turning off and putting cookies in, and be sure NOT to peek until morning! I didn’t add the nuts (allergy). This recipe made 24 cookies. Store in an airtight container. My DIL described these as a party in a cloud.
I made a double and added just less than 1/8 c flour to make it more sturdy. I used Andes mint chips and mini chocolate chips for flavors.
so sweet but addicting
This didn’t work for me at all. They were thin and dripped into each other. They tasted all right, but the presentation was off-putting. Are they meant to be thin? There was no rise at all…
Easy & no mess. I used mini choc chips which worked real well. I used less sugar & may try only a 1/2 c next time. Took others suggestion to preheat oven hotter.
I would rate more stars if mine came out right. Idk what I am doing wrong. after reading reviews, maybe it’s because my fiancée and I used eggs right out of the fridge, or maybe it’s because we didn’t line the cookie sheet with paper, maybe it’s that we used the recommended 350 degrees, or maybe it’s because we over beat or under beat our eggs? All I know is that we tried these five times with different results each time, and none of them look anything like in the picture! I would really like to get these to work though!
I’ve never made any type of meringue before and was very concerned that I had over whipped the egg whites, but the cookies turned out perfect! I lined the pan with parchment paper, used mint chocolate chips, and increased the oven temperature to 425. Thank you for sharing this simple, fun, and tasty treat Kirsten Chepeus!
These are very good and really sweet. It is a great way to use up egg whites after making a recipe that requires only the yolks. I used the paper bag liner on my pan too, worked great since I had no mess to clean up and the cookies popped right off of it.
The potential seems delicious… I tried twice… I’m not sure if i’m beating the eggwhites too much or what but they just fell apart both times. the first I forgot the brown bag and may not have beat the eggwhites on high enough. SO the second time I made sure to use the highest speed and dropped them on the brown paper bag. Still no success. I’m just not sure how long it takes to soft peaks and then to stiff peaks. I promise I didn’t open the oven!!
One thing that helps get a good airy, crisp meringue is to make sure egg whites are room temp, not cold.
REally cool ute recipes and soo easy, yummy yummy
Very easy to make, yummy to eat! I did preheat the oven to 425 (and then turned it off) as one person suggested (I think 350 would not be hot enough). I added a few chocolate chips and also some white chocolate chips that I had on hand and no nuts. My mom made these for me when I was growing up – it was fun to taste them again!
I really love this recipe!! I’ve never made,or had a merange(sp),so I had no idea what to expect. These cookies are great! I used walnuts instead of pecan because that’s what I had,along with choc chips. I gave 4 stars for lack of stating what the “prepared pan” was. Because of other reviews, I used an opened paper bag,and it worked awesome!! Also preheated 425 per other review. Thanks for recipe!!
Been Making these for over 50 years! Here’s the scoop on meraguine. You MUST use fresh egg white. You have to add the sugar slowly and make SURE that it is fully incorporate. you MUST line the cookies sheet with parchment or a brown paper bag trimmed to fit. That helps in several ways by absorbing moisture,keeps bottoms from browning(remember the bottom of the oven is always warmer – heat RISES) and makes for easy removal(you peel the cookies off instead of scraping off with a spatula).And very important make sure you oven is at the proper temp. Not all ovens are accurate. Get an oven thermometer and test your oven then either get it adjusted professionally or adjust your temp setting according to the thermometer. and last but not least when making this type of cookie NEVER,EVER open the oven once the cookies are inside until the full time has elapsed. Now to the cookie! these are SO versatile you can do many many variations on these. Almost any extract or nuts, color of your choice from vibrant to the palest shades with food color, peanut butter chips, crushed or chopped candies, sprinkles or decors of your choice, shredded coconut, finely chopped dried fruits. Let you imagination go WILD. And for goodness sakes ENJOY!!!