Meringues
Meringues are one of my favorite desserts. Meringue is an amazing thing: It can take many different forms, from the soft, slightly toasted fluff on a pie to crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside pavlova to light, airy, melt-in-your-mouth morsels that crumble to bits as you eat them. Today we’re taking a look at the last one.
These light-as-air treats are a delight to eat on their own and also make great decorations for other desserts like cakes, cupcakes, and tarts. They’re incredibly versatile, as you can make them pretty much any size and shape you like, with endless flavor options.
Meringue can be tricky to make – I’ve personally been working on perfecting my meringue skills for the past year, and am just now really hitting my stride. Don’t be dismayed though – like most desserts, meringues will taste delicious even if they don’t turn out looking great. Why not give them a try?
A Few Things I’ve Learned About Meringues:
- Humidity and fat are the enemies of meringue. Make sure all of your utensils and bowls are clean and dry before starting. Also, winter is a great time to try making meringues because the air is dryer – you won’t have to worry as much about humidity in the air.
- Egg whites at room temperature whip up much better than cold ones. There’s a lot of science-y goodness behind that, but just trust me – leave your egg whites out for at least an hour before making your meringue.
- When adding flavor, a little goes a long way. Flavors seem to deepen when the meringue bakes. When in doubt, use less than you think you’ll need to.
- A stand mixer is a dream come true for making meringues. While you can definitely make them with a hand mixer, a stand mixer will just make the process that much easier.
This is a basic meringue recipe with some suggested flavor combinations. I created my recipe by smushing together (technical term) recipes from two of my favorite dessert cookbooks – Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan, and Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. Both are amazing – if you’re in the market for more cookbooks (I always am), consider one of these.
So, try making meringues yourself and let me know how it goes. If you’re anything like me, once you get the hang of it you’ll love making them so much you won’t be able to stop at one batch!
And once you’ve tried this basic recipe, give my Mocha Swirl Meringues a try!
Meringues
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 c sugar
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1/2-1 tsp vanilla or other extract
- 1/2 c mix ins (coconut, chopped chocolate, nuts, etc) optional
- few drops food coloring optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275°F.
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix together sugar, cornstarch, and baking powder, and set aside.
- In a stand mixer with whisk attachment (or with a hand mixer), whip egg whites at medium-high speed until frothy.
- Add cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form – a total of about 3 minutes of mixing.
- Continue beating and add sugar mixture 1T at a time. Then add extract and food coloring (if desired).
- Beat another 2-3 minutes, or until you have glossy, stiff peaks. Meringue will be fluffy and will start to become drier at this point. Gently fold in any mix-ins you like (coconut, chocolate bits, etc).
- Spoon meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a large round or star tip (I use Ateco #808 round tip) and pipe onto cookie sheets. (Or scoop with a small cookie scoop) Try to make them all the same size, about 1 inch in diameter, leaving an inch or two between them.
- Place cookie sheets in the oven and reduce the temperature to 250°F.
- Bake for 50-75 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. When done, meringues should be puffed, dry, and beginning to crack. They will sound hollow if you tap them on the bottom. They shouldn’t be turning brown yet (though if they do they’re not ruined – they’ll still be delicious).
- Leaving the cookie sheets in the oven, turn off the heat and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Leave meringues in the oven to cool and continue to dry out for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Notes
- Rose-Cardamom: add 1/4 tsp cardamom to the sugar mixture, and use 1/2 tsp rosewater for your extract. Add a few drops of red food coloring to make them pink.
- Caramel Latte: add 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder to the sugar mixture, and use 1/2 tsp caramel extract.
- Coconut: use 1/2 tsp coconut extract, and stir in 1/2 c toasted shredded coconut at the end.
- Lemon: use 1/2 tsp lemon exract, and a few drops of yellow food coloring.
- Matcha: add 1/2-1 tsp matcha powder to the sugar mixture, depending on how strong you want the matcha flavor. Omit extract. Add a few drops of green food coloring if you like.
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Jasmin
I will try these and let you know how it goes!
admin
Great! Can’t wait to hear how they turn out for you!