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["Cover 2 cookie sheets with baking parchment paper, anchoring, if necessary with a dab of the meringue when it's ready.", "Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in small mixer bowl (I use my big Kitchen Aid bowl) until foamy.", "Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes.", "Do not underbeat.", "Heat oven to 225 degrees.", "Fit decorators' tube or pastry bag with plain tip with 1/4"" opening.", "Fill bag with meringue and fold top of bag to close.", "Anchor the paper to the cookie sheets with a couple dabs of meringue.", "Hold upright and pipe out about 55 mushroom caps, each 1 to 1-1/4 inches in diameter.", "Sift cocoa over caps.", "Now, this is important: Stick your forefinger in sugar and gently pat down the peak that's sticking up on all those caps!", "Bake until firm, 45-50 minutes.", "Remove from oven and immediately turn caps upside down and make an indentation in bottom of each cap.", "(I use a wood skewer or small knife tip to poke/carve a bit of a hole.)", "Brush excess cocoa from caps with a soft-bristled brush.", "Pipe about fifty-five 3/4"" upright stems on second cookie sheet.", "They should have peaks which will fit into mushroom caps.", "Bake until firm 40-45 minutes.", "Remove from oven; cool.", "To assemble the mushrooms, pipe a small amount of frosting into the indentation of each mushroom cap; insert stem and stand to dry.", "Store mushrooms uncovered or loosely covered at room temperature.", "They'll keep a week or so.", "Use the mushrooms to decorate a yule log cake.", "Extra mushrooms can be packaged in -- a mushroom carton -- for a special treat."]
