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1
Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment or Silpat.
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2
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
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3
Place 4 ounces of chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat.
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4
Stir occasionally until melted and smooth, then remove from heat and set aside to cool.
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5
To cut the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate, use a heavy knife, work on a cutting board, and cut the chocolate into pieces measuring 1/4 to 1/2 inch across.
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6
Set aside.
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7
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter.
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8
Add the vanilla and the instant coffee and both sugars, and beat well.
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9
Beat in the egg yolks, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula.
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10
Beat in the melted chocolate.
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11
On low speed, gradually add half of the sifted dry ingredients, continuing to scrape the bowl with the spatula.
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12
Now gradually add the milk and the remaining dry ingredients and beat only until smooth.
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13
Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the cut chocolate pieces.
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14
Set the chocolate dough aside at room temperature and prepare the meringue topping.
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15
Meringue Topping.
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16
In the small bowl of an electric mixer, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites together with the salt until the whites hold soft peaks.
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17
Gradually add the sugar, 1 to 2 spoonfuls at a time, and then beat at high speed until the meringue is very stiff.
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18
Toward the end of the beating, beat in the almond extract.
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19
Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the flour and then the coconut.
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20
To form the cookies: Use a rounded teaspoonful of the chocolate dough for each cookie and place them 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.
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21
Slightly flatten the tops.
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22
Then top each cookie with a slightly rounded teaspoonful of the meringue topping.
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23
In order to wind up even, use a tiny bit less of the topping than you use of the chocolate dough for each cookie.
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24
Try to place the topping carefully so that it won't run off the chocolate dough for each while it is baking.
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25
Bake 11-13 minutes, until the topping is lightly browned.
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26
Reverse the cookie sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking to ensure even browning.
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27
With a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to racks to cool.
