Light, airy, and crisp, these treats melt in your mouth and have endless flavor options. Adapted from the meringue recipes in two of my favorite cookbooks - "Dorie's Cookies" by Dorie Greenspan and "Sweet" by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time3 hourshrs
Total Time3 hourshrs30 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: Meringues
Servings: 501-inch meringues
Ingredients
3largeegg whitesat room temperature
1/2tspcream of tartar
1csugar
1/2tspcornstarch
1/8tspbaking powder
1/2-1tspvanilla or other extract
1/2cmix ins (coconut, chopped chocolate, nuts, etc)optional
fewdropsfood coloringoptional
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
Flavor Suggestions:
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.