Martha’s Coffee Meringue Acorns make a beautifully festive holiday dessert. Given their seasonal appeal, they are perfect for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but we love to make them all year round!
Maple Syrup Sweetened Meringues
These cute maple syrup sweetened meringues, flavored with pure coffee extract, are dipped in dark chocolate and pistachios. This brilliant dessert recipe is based on a meringue cookie recipe I found on Martha Stewart’s site. Her coffee meringue acorn recipe is also gluten-free, but is sweetened with white sugar, which I do not use.
Coffee + Chocolate = Perfection
If you’re hankering for a chocolate dessert recipe or a coffee dessert recipe, these coffee meringue acorns have you covered with that fabulous combination of these two classic flavors. The boys and their friends gobbled up Martha’s Coffee Meringue Acorns when home for pit stops on the way to many fall baseball practices!
Perfect for Holiday Gift Baskets
We’ll be baking these adorable meringues along with my other healthy Christmas Cookie Recipes come December for the holiday gift baskets we make for our friends and neighbors.
Martha's Coffee Meringue Acorns
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon coffee extract
- 3 ounces chocolate chips
- 1 cup pistachios, finely chopped
Instructions
- In a medium pot, combine egg whites and maple syrup
- Turn flame to lowest setting possible
- Using a hand blender with whisk attachment, whisk for 4-5 minutes, until stiff glossy peaks form
- Blend in coffee extract, scraping sides and bottom of pot to incorporate
- Fit a pastry bag with a ½-inch round tip (ateco #807) and fill bag with meringue
- Pipe each of the meringue "kisses" 1 ¼-inch in diameter, releasing pressure and pulling pastry bag straight up to create each 1 inch apart onto parchment paper lined baking sheets
- Bake at 200°F for 3 hours, and allow to cool completely
- Melt chocolate over very low heat
- Remove from heat
- Dip base of each meringue in chocolate, then coat base with nuts
- Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet to set for 1 hour
- Serve
Equipment
Recipe Shortcuts
If you don’t want to be fussy and mess with a pastry bag you can drop the mixture one large spoonful at a time onto a parchment lined baking sheet, they just won’t look like pretty little acorns when they’re done. This meringue recipe will work with honey (I’ve tested it), however it does not taste as good. The flavor of honey gives the meringues a cloyingly sweet taste.
How to Get Crisp Meringues
While my other meringue cookie recipes (plain and pumpkin spice) bake for 2 hours, these meringue cookies are a bit bigger, therefore they need to cook for a longer time period. Also note, that if it’s a humid or rainy day you may need to leave your meringues in the oven longer to crisp up and dry out. This is generally true for meringue recipes. If you’ve completed the assigned baking time and the meringues are not crisp enough, turn off the oven and leave the meringues in for another hour or two until they reach desired crispness.
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SusieW says
Elena, you did it again! I am hosting a Paleo High Tea and was looking for a WOW recipe and this is it! These, truffles (also your recipe) and strawberries and they will love the dessert course. Thank you!! SusieW
Elana says
You’re welcome Susie!
Hazel says
Meringues.Does the pot need to be over a pan of warm water.That is when you put pot of syrup and egg whites over heat.
Elana says
Hazel, no need to do that, turn flame to lowest setting possible as indicated in the instructions :-)
Leigh Anne says
These are ridiculously good! I don’t like coffee and I’m crazy about these. Took them to a party and they were gobbled up! Definitely a new favorite! Thank you!!!
Elana says
Leigh Anne, thanks for letting me know these are ridiculously good!
Erin says
Your food photographs are always so simple and beautiful!
Elana says
Thanks Erin!
Roseanne Tilden says
Could you use the same amount of any other extract in stead of coffee? I hate coffee but thought this might be good with almond, or vanilla extract. Do you think that would work?
Erin says
If you use almond extract, keep in mind that it’s intense. I use 1/2 to 1/3 as much almond extract as any other extract; the almond flavor shines without being overpowering.
Rebecca says
If I replace the maple syrup with cane sugar, would it still be the same quantity (1/2 cup)?
Maria says
why don’t you just search for Martha Stewart’s meringue acorn recipe and use that?
Elana says
Thanks Maria, that’s not a bad idea :-)
deniseregina says
What do you mean by coffee extract? Like almond extract? Would strong brewed coffee work? Or espresso powder? Thanks! Want to make these for Thanksgiving!
KK says
I was going to ask the same thing. :)
Elana says
Hi Denise!
Thanks for your comment; In the recipe above, I’ve added a link to the coffee extract that I use (the product is actually called coffee emulsion and it’s basically the same thing). I don’t know if the substitutions you suggest above will work as I haven’t tried them. If you do, please stop back by and let us know how it goes!
Elana
Janet K-F says
Yes, it is like almond or vanilla extract. I really like Flavorganics Organic Coffee Extract, which is GMO and gluten free.
Nana says
I don’t exactly have a meringue recipe request. I just want to taste them without having to make them! Haha. I’ll have to send this link to my teenagers and coax them into baking for me.
Elana says
Thanks Nana!
Ruth Hirsch says
Dear Elana,
thank you for the coffee Meringues. i have loved meringues since a child. Nifty airy texture. And now that I am no longer chunky, I would like more merigue recipes bec I think they have few calories.
My requests are for Savory Meringues.
Perhaps with a grated Parm or similar Cheese–to replace Cheese Doodles!
Perhaps Chipolte Chili Meringues?
I would love it if you could come up with some along these lines.
(I wrote this request as soon as I read your Post— but it seems not to have posted. So trying again.)
Thank you, as always,
Ruth
Erin says
I just took a class at Sur la Table where we learned to use powdered ingredients for flavoring meringue. We used powdered cranberries for macarons, but if you made chipotle merinques, for example, you could dip them in finely shredded cheese in lieu of nuts…
Erin says
Powerdered as in simply reeze-dried — not chemically enhanced or dried + sugar.
Marloes says
To make the meringue you still need a lot of sweetness from either syrup or sugar. So don’t know if they will get savoury at all. Curious what Elana comes up with though…..