Aunt Chicks Egg Meringue Food

MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer); beat on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium high; beat in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, then add the extract or zest. Continue beating until the meringue is thick, glossy and holds stiff peaks, about 6 minutes.
• For colored cookies, swirl a few drops of food coloring into the meringue or use a small paintbrush to paint 3 long stripes of food coloring up the inside of a pastry bag. For chocolate chip versions, gently fold the mini chocolate chips into the mixture.
• Drop or pipe the meringue as desired, about 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake 1 hour, then turn off the oven and let the meringues stand in the oven until dry, about 2 hours. Top with or dip in melted chocolate and sprinkle with nonpareils.

GOOD MERINGUE

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture forms stiff peaks.

AUNT GRETA'S WALNUT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Whip the egg white with a whip attachment until stiff.
• Add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt and continue whipping until stiff and glossy. Fold in the walnuts.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined sheet pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool and remove from the pan. Store in an airtight container.

AUNT JIMMY'S BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Make the Filling: In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Immediately remove from the heat and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, until caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes. (You'll smell a characteristic nutty caramel odor when the butter browns, signaling that the mixture is ready.)
• Whisking constantly, gradually add the butter/brown sugar mixture to the hot milk/cream mixture. If the mixture isn't smooth, blend for 20 seconds with a hand blender or pour through a fine sieve.
• Put the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture. Whisk in the cornstarch and salt until dissolved. Whisk the cornstarch mixture back into the hot milk mixture in the saucepan. Whisk in the Scotch.
• While whisking constantly, cook over medium-high heat until thick and just boiling. When the mixture thickens, the whisk will leave trail marks on the bottom of the pot and the mixture will have a few large bubbles boiling up to the top.
• Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour into the prebaked pie shell and set aside while you make the meringue.
• Make the Meringue: In a standing mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip the whites in a clean dry bowl on low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whipping on medium speed until soft peaks are formed. Gradually pour in the sugar and continue whipping on high speed until stiff and glossy. Pile the meringue onto the pie and swirl to cover, spreading it to the edge. (Making sure it touches the edge.) Bake the pie until the meringue is lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Chill the pie, uncovered, at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.

CLASSIC MERINGUE

Steps:

• Combine egg whites and salt in mixing bowl of electric mixer. Beat at medium speed until opaque and loosely foamy. Increase speed to high and add sugar in a slow stream down side of mixer. Beat until stiff and shiny.

NETTIE'S CARAMEL PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out to a disk 11 inches in diameter and ease it into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim the edges. Place parchment paper on the dough and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake until the edges of the crust are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and set the crust aside to cool.
• In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup of sugar and the flour, milk and salt and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and is smooth, about 6 minutes. Set aside.
• Place the remaining sugar in a small skillet set over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally with a fork until the sugar melts and turns amber in color. Carefully add 1/2 cup of water. (The mixture will sputter.) Raise the heat to medium, and continue to cook, stirring, until the caramel is dissolved and the mixture is slightly reduced, about 4 minutes.
• Add the caramel to the flour- and-milk mixture. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks together and slowly whisk in the hot caramel mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• When ready to assemble the pie, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir the chilled caramel mixture before pouring it into the baked crust. Spread meringue over the top and bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.

VEGAN MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 210 degrees F (100 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
• Drain chickpeas, reserving 1/2 cup liquid from the can. Save the chickpeas for another use. Pour chickpea liquid into a bowl and add the cream of tartar. Beat mixture using an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, as you continually beat until glossy peaks form, about 20 minutes; beat in vanilla extract until well incorporated.
• Spoon mixture into a piping bag and pipe into small circles, about 1 inch in diameter, onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until meringues are firm and come away easily from the parchment paper, about 90 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, at least 15 minutes.

AUNT CHICK'S EGG MERINGUE

Steps:

• In a clean bowl, beat the egg white until very frothy. Gradually beat in the sugar. Beat in the salt and vanilla. Continue beating until the mixture forms stiff peaks.