The Real Afikomen – Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

At some point during the Passover Seder – the spring meal celebrating the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt – a piece of matzo is broken in half and hidden. The children in attendance search for this afikomen, the finder receiving a prize. Seder guests are then supposed to share the afikomen as dessert.

Some of this makes perfect sense. Giving kids something to do hopefully keeps them out of trouble and out of the adults’ hair. But dry, bland matzo for dessert? No thanks.

In my family the search for the real afikomen started days before the Seder when my mother made chocolate chip meringue cookies. When we got to Philadelphia, often a day before the big meal, the kids knew the meringues were already baked and stored somewhere, hidden in wax paper-lined metal cookie tins. They would have to wait for dessert until after the Seder. But Jacob and Ariana and their cousins wanted those meringues, and so the search began. They looked high and low until the cookies were located, and then they snuck one or two, just enough so that their grandmother wouldn’t notice they were missing.

The whole family helped with preparations for the Seder, each with our own traditional jobs. My father made appetizers, and earlier, had prepared chicken soup and brisket which he then froze. My mother made her mother’s Passover fruit kugel. I made matzo balls and chopped liver, while my brother Saul coated the chicken with a Passover version of Shake and Bake seasoning. Our eldest brother Lee made the charoset and assembled a Seder plate. Our wives polished silverware, vacuumed and swept, made flower arrangements, and got the kids to help set the table. Whoever was available peeled hardboiled eggs, made salad, cut celery and parsley, and broke off the woody asparagus stems in preparation for our guests.

At dinner time, we squeezed sometimes upwards of forty people into the dining room, making sure everyone who had to use the bathroom did so before they sat down. The Passover Seder is supposed to be a time to relax and eat comfortably, preferably reclining with pillows symbolizing our freedom. Our Seder was the most uncomfortable meal of the year because of the crowd.

Although we weren’t religious, my father led a service that lasted on the order of 45 minutes. Mostly in English, we wound our way around the room with everyone reading a small portion of the Passover story. The service included a mix of traditions, humor, and serious points, relating the history of Jews in Egyptian bondage to oppressed peoples around the world today.

As the Seder proceeded, those who sat at the children’s table became hungry and restless. We would give our kids food before they were supposed to eat it, just to keep them quiet. They would read if it was their turn and hesitatingly recite the Four Questions if they had to, an “honor” reserved for the youngest present. At some point when highlighting the significance of matzo – unleavened to represent the hasty departure from slavery in Egypt before the Pharoh changed his mind – the afikomen was wrapped in a napkin, passed under the table, and hidden for the treasure hunt to come.

After the meal, the table was cleared, and the desserts appeared. The kids began their search for the afikomen, knowing one would receive a few dollars as a reward, always from Uncle Lou (and later his son, Larry), because my father always announced to everyone that he was the one to give the prize. As they walked by, widening their hunt, our children would sneak another meringue from the dessert table. Eventually the afikomen was found and dessert was served.

We had strawberries with cream, freshly whipped by my brother Saul, an apricot-walnut tart made by my mother, a flourless chocolate cake brought by an aunt, and even after my grandmother died, someone continued to bring jellied “fruit” slices in bright colors covered in crunchy sugar. And then there were the chocolate chip meringue cookies, the pile already substantially reduced by little hands.

Light and sweet, meringues are crunchy on the outside and airy within. The sugary baked egg white slowly disintegrates on your tongue, leaving little bursts of bittersweet chocolate to melt in the warmth of your mouth. And since each cookie seems so insubstantial, it is easy to eat more than a few before they become too cloyingly sweet. Sometimes we had to stop the kids from eating too many, both because they needed to leave some for the other guests and because we feared they might get sick from too much sugar.

At the end of the evening only a small amount of dessert remained. There were rarely meringues left over. But sitting on the table, still wrapped in a napkin was that afikomen. Because which would you rather have for dessert, a dry, bland piece of matzo, or the real prize, a wispy meringue, as sweet, light, and airy as a kiss?

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

Meringue cookies are the perfect Passover dessert. They contain no flour, only egg, vanilla, sugar, and chocolate chips, thereby meeting the dietary requirements of the holiday. (Some recipes also contain a pinch of cream of tartar.) In addition, they can be made up to a week ahead of time, as they store well if kept in a cool location, sealed in an airtight container. They do not do well under humid conditions, absorbing moisture from the air and becoming soggy. Luckily Passover is a spring holiday when the humidity level is generally low.

My mother has been making them as long as I can remember. When she cooks something that only requires egg yolk, she freezes the whites, saving them until meringue season at Passover. I have never noticed differences from year to year, but she never seems to remember the recipe, always consulting the Settlement Cookbook, which has maybe a dozen variations. She then modifies to meet her needs. Some of the Settlement’s recipes have more sugar and some less. For chocolate meringues they call for grated bittersweet chocolate; my mother (and my kids) prefer chocolate chips. Cooking temperature and times vary. While always baked on a low heat, a little warmer might result in cookies slightly browned on top, but less firm within. With a lower heat they will cook for longer drying the egg whites out more, providing a crunchier result. One trick – as long as they have not cooked too quickly outside – is to shut the oven off and let the meringues continue to dehydrate as the oven cools.

While these meringue cookies are far easier to prepare than they appear, there is one essential rule to follow. When separating egg yolk from white, it is imperative that the white is not contaminated with even a speck of yolk (or other fat or oil). This will inhibit the aeration process, preventing proper foam formation. If you do contaminate the white, try to separate the yolk. But if impossible, start over and use the egg mixture for another purpose.

45 minutes, plus cooling time, mostly unattended, about 1 dozen cookies

2 egg whites

½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

⅓ cup sugar

6 oz. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 265 ^oF and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Place eggs whites in a clean steel bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs on high for several minutes until stiff peaks form.
3. Add vanilla and continue to beat on medium-low for a minute or so until it is fully incorporated.
4. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time while continuing to beat on medium-low.
5. Once sugar is fully mixed in, use a rubber spatula to fold in and fully distribute chocolate chips.
6. Using a spoon, carefully place approximately 1½ tablespoon mounds of foam on the parchment-covered sheet pan, leaving an inch between them.
7. Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for about a half hour, rotating halfway through. Check to make sure cookies are no more than very lightly browned on top. If they are, remove from oven and allow to cool completely. If they are not at all browned, shut off oven and leave cookies inside until they are completely cool.
8. Store meringues in a cool location sealed in an airtight container for up to a week.

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