Basic 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.

BASIC MERINGUE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
• Beat egg whites in medium bowl with electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time, until sugar is dissolved and stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Spread over hot pie filling in decorative swirls.
• Bake pie in preheated 425°F (220°C) oven until tips of meringue are golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Makes topping for a 9-inch (23 cm) pie.

SIMPLE MERINGUE

Steps:

• Combine egg whites, lemon juice, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip, first on low speed, then slowly progressing to high speed, until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes.
• Slowly sprinkle the sugar a little at a time over the egg-white mixture, and whip until glossy peaks are formed, about 3 minutes.
• Sift the cornstarch over the meringue, and fold in. Use meringue immediately.

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.

MERINGUE

Steps:

• Completely melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Add the cream to a medium bowl and pour in the chocolate. Whisk the mixture very slowly creating a shiny, elastic emulsion.
• In a double boiler heat the egg white and sugar until all the graininess of the sugar has dissolved.
• Whip the mixture until cooled and thickened into a shiny meringue, about 4 to 7 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200 to 220 degrees F.
• Fill a pastry or resealable plastic bag with the meringue and pipe little stars or "kisses" onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until very dry, between 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. You do not want any color or "browning" on the kisses so keep the oven temperature low. Dip the kisses into the ganache and make ganache sandwiches. Set aside to dry for a few minutes. Serve immediately.
• Alternately, you can pipe the meringue into long lines and bake in the oven at 200 to 220 degrees F until nice and dry, about 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Then break into little sticks and use them as decorations on your favorite tartlets or cake.

BASIC ITALIAN MERINGUE

Steps:

• Bring sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook, undisturbed, until syrup registers 248 degrees on a candy thermometer.
• Meanwhile, whisk whites with a mixer on low speed until foamy. Add salt and cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium, and whisk until soft peaks form, about 8 minutes.
• Reduce speed to low, and pour hot syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Increase speed to high, and beat until mixture stops steaming, about 3 minutes. Use immediately.

MERINGUES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
• 2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or foil. On each, draw 10 4-inch circles.
• 3. Mix the sugars and set aside.
• 4. In a bowl or electric mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt. Continue to beat, adding 1 tablespoon of sugar at a time and beating well after each addition. This will take about 10 minutes.
• 5. Add the vanilla and beat at high speed until stiff and glossy.
• 6. Using a pastry tube fitted with a large plain tip, pipe the meringue in coils starting at the center and continuing to the outside of each circle.
• 7. Bake about 1 hour, until cream colored and firm. Leave the meringues in the turned-off oven for several hours or overnight without opening the oven door.
• 8. When ready to serve, carefully peel away the paper or foil.

ULTIMATE MERINGUE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 110C/ 100C fan/gas ¼.
• Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick liner or parchment paper (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).
• Tip 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
• Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don't over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.
• Sift one third of the 115g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don't over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy.
• Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape. Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer.
• Bake for 1 ½-1 ¾ hours in a fan oven, 1 ¼ hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour.
• Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.) Serve two meringues sandwiched together with a generous dollop of softly whipped double cream.

BETTY'S EASY MERINGUE COOKIES (2 INGREDIENTS)

Steps:

• Beat whites until very stiff.
• Gradually add sugar and keep beating until mixture forms peaks.
• Grease or spray, with cooking oil a large cookie sheet and put teaspoon amounts on to the sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Place in preheated 225 degree oven on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes. Check to see if the center of the cookie is dry for doneness.
• If dry, remove from oven and bang sheet- the cookies should jump off the sheet!
• Note: Do not brown!

EASY MERINGUE TOPPING

Steps:

• Beat the egg whites until frothy.
• Gradually add in the sugar,continuing to beat until stiff.
• Combine vanilla extract.
• Spread over pie and bake at least 10-15 minutes at 350.