Name: Dark Chocolate-Pistachio-Orange Kisses
Total time: 270 min
Ingredients: Basic Meringue , divided; 1.5 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (from 1 orange); Food coloring gel (such as Wilton Golden Yellow); 6 ounces 60% bittersweet chocolate, chopped; 1 cup raw pistachios, finely chopped

These three flavors make for the ultimate sweet treat.

Paige Grandjean

Updated on January 6, 2022

Dark Chocolate-Pistachio-Orange Kisses — Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Active Time:

30 mins

Bake Time:

1 hrs 30 mins

Cool Time:

2 hrs

Stand Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

4 hrs 30 mins

Yield:

You can never do wrong with the classic combination of bittersweet dark chocolate, rich, buttery pistachios, and bright orange zest. But taking those flavors and combining them with a light, pillowy meringue? Now that's what we call a show-stopper. These Dark Chocolate-Pistachio-Orange Kisses will be the dessert you whip up when you're looking to impress. They'd make a lovely addition to any cookie box or platter; we love to pile these kisses high in a candy bowl and keep it around for anytime snacking. No matter how you serve them, these elegant, chocolate-dipped kisses will satisfy your sweet cravings in style.

It all starts with our Basic Meringue recipe, which can be adapted to create any number of cute confections. The meringue itself is infused with flavor from fresh orange zest, then given an extra dose of color from food gel. These kisses are a great way to learn to pipe meringue—plus, the French tip makes them look super fancy. Once they've baked and cooled, we dip the bottoms of these meringues in melted chocolate, which helps the crushed pistachios adhere to the confections.

The flavors in these sweets are inspired by chocolate-covered orange peels, accented and heightened with equal notes of chocolate and pistachio, which provide a nice contrast to the sweet meringue. These meringues would be just as lovely for tea time as they would be on a Mother's Day brunch spread.

Ingredients

Basic Meringue, divided
1 ½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest (from 1 orange)
Food coloring gel (such as Wilton Golden Yellow)
6 ounces 60% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup raw pistachios, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 200°F with rack in lower third position. Spread about ⅛ teaspoon of the Basic Meringue into each corner of 2 unrimmed baking sheets. Line each baking sheet with parchment paper; press into meringue to hold parchment in place. Set aside.
Using a spatula, gently stir orange zest and a very small amount of food coloring into remaining Basic Meringue in bowl until incorporated. Stir in additional coloring until desired color. Transfer mixture to a large (about 18-inch) piping bag fitted with a ¾-inch French star piping tip (such as Ateco 869). Pipe 2-inch-wide (about 1-inch-high) rounds spaced at least ½ inch apart on prepared baking sheets. You should have 48 meringues total.
Bake meringues in preheated oven until dry, 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours. Turn oven off; let cool completely in oven until crisp, at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.
Microwave chopped chocolate in a medium-size microwavable bowl on HIGH until melted and smooth, about 90 seconds, stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Place chopped pistachios in a small shallow bowl. Working with 1 meringue at a time, carefully dip bottom into melted chocolate so that it comes about ¼ inch up the sides; let excess drip off. Dip meringue into pistachios to coat chocolate completely, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat process with remaining meringues, melted chocolate, and pistachios. Let stand at room temperature until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Dipped meringues can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.