Schaum Brötle--"little foam cookies"

The Fujis made it safely to Utah, just before a snowstorm hit--phew! As I type this post I can look out the window of my MIL's kitchen and watch snow softly falling, turning the yard outside into a world of soft white. It's beautiful. It looks as if everything has been doused in confectioners' sugar.

Earlier this month I mentioned some cookies that my Oma used to make that were my mom's favorites called Schaum Brötle (which means "little foam cookies").
One fun little fact that CQ shared with me (because she speaks German and I do not) is that "brot" means bread in German, so cookies are "little bread"! These are very similar to the Forgotten Cookie recipe that I shared with some slight differences in ingredients and baking method. These do not need to be "forgotten" in the oven overnight, but the batter does require a substantial amount of beating.
One of the ingredients in these cookies is the grated peel of one lemon which gives the finished cookies a wonderful light citrus zing.
These cookies are very light and will crumble and melt in your mouth as soon as you bite into one. It comes as no surprise that these were my mother's favorite. CQ agreed with my mom, saying she loved these, and remembered Oma making them, especially around Christmas. She also told me that Oma didn't put chocolate chips in them in the beginning, that this was a later innovation. (Thank goodness for that little bout of inspiration!)
As this recipe does call for 4 eggs whites, which will leave you with 4 little lonely yolks, CQ also suggests that making pound cake is totally called for in conjunction with making these little beauties. Speaking of genius, I love the way CQ thinks!

Schaum Brötle

4 egg whites

1.5 cups sugar

Finely grated peel of one lemon

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

1. Beat egg whites until stiff and glossy and stiff peaks form. Beat in sugar a little bit at a time, and continue beating at medium speed for 20 minutes. Then add grated lemon peel, chips, and nuts.

2. Heat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and lightly flour a cookie sheet. Spoon the cookie mixture onto the cookie sheet. Globs should be about the size of ping-pong balls. Cookies will expand only slightly.

3. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until you see only the very faintest hint of browning on the tops or around the bottom edges of cookies. Don't over bake! Carefully remove cookies from cookie sheets and allow to completely cool on wire rack.

Coming Tomorrow: One Good Loaf leads to more cheating...