TWD: Cafe Volcano Cookies

Meringues are not really my thing. If these cookies weren't so incredibly easy to make, I probably would have skipped them, as these are a coffee-flavored meringue cookie. A few things persuaded me to go forward anyway: as I mentioned, they are incredibly easy - mix chopped nuts, sugar, espresso powder and egg white in pan until just warm, spoon onto baking sheet, bake; they are coffee flavored - I'm pretty much a sucker for coffee-flavored anything; Dorie describes them as higgledy-piggledy. How could I possibly skip something with such a wonderful description?! So, I whipped them up in about 5 minutes + baking time.

They aren't the most attractive cookies - Dorie pretty much hit the nail on the head with "higgledy-piggledy" but what about the taste?

It took 3 cookies for me to figure out whether I liked them or not. Actually, I'm still not entirely sure. I guess the thing is this - I didn't immediately love them, but I didn't necessarily dislike them either. I enjoyed the melt-in-your-mouthiness of them, but they were a little crunchy for my taste. The coffee could have been a bit stronger, as it was it added a bitterness that wasn't necessarily discernible as coffee. I think a little cocoa could have improved things. I found these cookies interesting, but given my lackluster reaction to them, they probably aren't something I would make again. As a side-note, they are gluten-free and they would be easy to flavor in different ways, so they might be something to think about for the holidays if you are avoiding gluten.

I am glad I tried them, because I found the technique fascinating and fun, so thanks to MacDuff of The Lonely Sidecar for choosing this recipe. Visit the TWD blogroll to see how everyone else's cookies turned out.