Ghastly Meringues 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.

GHOST MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 °F (135°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the egg whites at medium speed, while slowly adding in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Add the vanilla extract and mix at medium-high speed until stiff peaks have formed.
• If using parchment paper, place a little meringue on the underside of the parchment paper at each corner on the baking sheet to keep the parchment paper from sliding.
• Transfer the meringue to a piping bag. It's easier to add the meringue mixture to the piping bag if you place the bag in a tall glass. Fold the plastic over the edges to make a wide opening and spoon it in the meringue with little to no mess. Then fold over the sides and press the mixture towards the tip.
• Begin making mounds, by holding the bag perpendicular to the lined baking sheet. Press gently, using even pressure, and pipe about a 1-inch (2.5-cm) mound (about the size of a Hershey kiss).
• Bake for 1 hour, then turn off the oven and let the meringues cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, inside of the oven with the door closed.
• Take the meringues out and add two small dots to the meringues using the black food marker to resemble eyes.
• Transfer the ghosts to an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days.

PEPPERMINT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. While beating, add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in the peppermint.
• Fold the top of a pastry bag fitted with a round tip over and down a few inches. Dip a paintbrush in the food coloring. Starting inside the pastry tip, brush a stroke of food coloring from the tip to the top of the bag. Repeat with 3 more evenly spaced strokes. Fill the bag with the meringue; try to spoon it directly into the center so as not to smudge the food coloring (though some smudging is inevitable). Pipe 1-inch-diameter mounds of meringue spaced 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake until the meringues are no longer glossy and feel light and dry when picked up, about 1 hour. Open the oven for a few minutes, then turn it off and shut the door. Leave the meringues in the oven until they are completely dry inside, about 2 hours. The meringues can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

MERINGUE GHOSTS AND PUMPKINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
• Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium speed until very foamy and almost forming soft peaks. Add the cream of tartar and salt and increase the mixer speed to medium high. Gradually add the sugar while mixing, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form, about 6 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract.
• Remove 1/4 cup of the meringue to a small bowl and stir in 2 drops of green gel food coloring until fully incorporated. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
• Transfer half of the remaining meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Set aside.
• Add 4 drops of orange gel food coloring to the meringue still in the mixer bowl and mix until incorporated. Dip a toothpick or skewer into the bottle of orange gel food coloring and drag 3 or 4 lines of food coloring lengthwise along the inside of a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip, spacing the lines apart evenly. Transfer the orange meringue to this piping bag.
• Pipe a dot of meringue in each corner of a baking sheet and press a sheet of parchment paper on top, using the dots to keep it in place. Make ghosts by piping the white meringue into small mounds on the parchment, alternating pressure on the piping bag to create two or three stacked mounds for each ghost. Carefully press two mini chocolate chips, flat-side out, to make eyes for each ghost. Press another mini chocolate chip, pointy-tip up, in each of a few ghosts to make a mouth.
• Make pumpkins by piping the striped orange meringue into small mounds, making sure to hold the piping tip far enough above the baking sheet so that they have some height. Pipe leaves and stems with the green meringue on top of each pumpkin. Carefully press mini chocolate chips, pointy-tip up, into some of the pumpkins to make the eyes and a nose. Line up 4 or 5 chips the same way to make a mouth for each jack-o'-lantern.
• Bake the meringues for 1 hour, then turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside with the door closed for 2 hours 30 minutes more to fully dry out.

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.

MERINGUE BONES

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until white and foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar until thick and glossy, about 5 minutes, then beat in the vanilla.
• Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch round tip. Pipe 3-inch bones onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the meringues are dry and crisp, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely on the baking sheets.
• Carefully loosen the meringue bones from the parchment paper and sandwich with a thin layer of jam. Spread or pipe a thin layer of jam on the flat side of a meringue; sandwich with another meringue. Repeat with the remaining meringues.

VEGAN MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Strain the chickpeas directly into the bowl of a stand mixer. There should be about 3/4 cup liquid; reserve the chickpeas for another use. Add the cream of tartar and a pinch of salt to the liquid, and beat on medium-high speed until very foamy. While still beating, add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, then continue to beat until the mixture forms stiff and glossy peaks, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a large star or round tip, and pipe 2-inch mounds about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the meringues are set and no longer glossy, about 2 hours, rotating the trays (from top to bottom) halfway through. Turn the oven off, and let the meringues sit in the closed oven until they have dried out inside, about 1 hour more. (The meringues will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)

PETITS MERINGUES GLACE DALI

Steps:

• For Meringues: Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.
• Grease and flour cookie sheet. Ready 3 piping bags with 1/2-inch nozzle. Whisk egg whites until stiff and peaked. Add good pinch salt and water and continue to whisk. When whisk begins to leave a trail through meringue, gradually add in sugar, folding in last bit with a metal spoon. Meringue should be very stiff and glossy. Place 1/3 mixture into 1 piping bag. Pipe in very small, even round shapes on cookie sheet to make a total of about 10 mini meringues. Mix another 1/3 of meringue with food coloring and pipe second round of meringues in same manner as first. Add cocoa to remaining meringue and repeat piping as before. Place in oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven and chip a small hole in bottom of meringues just big enough to fit small pastry tip. Cool on wire rack. If making meringues a day ahead, store in airtight container.
• For Creme Patisserie: In small pot, combine vanilla and milk and heat to just before boiling. Place yolks in large bowl. Add sugar and beat briskly until light and creamy. Gently stir in flour, a little at a time. Gradually add heated milk to yolks and combine well. Pour into non-stick pan and cook gently over low heat stirring constantly, then set aside and cool for 2 hours. The cream will continue to thicken as it cools. When cooled, divide custard into 3 bowls and flavor each with a different liqueur.
• To serve, place ice cream on chilled serving dish. With a small tipped pastry bag, pipe the coffee cream into the chocolate meringues. Pipe the cherry cream into the plain meringues. Finally, pipe the orange cream into the pink ones. Arrange meringues over top and sides of ice cream.

MERINGUE GHOSTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In small bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar; beat at medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating at high speed until meringue is very stiff and glossy, and sugar is dissolved.
• Use disposable decorating bag or gallon-sized resealable food storage plastic bag with 1/2-inch hole cut in bottom corner. Spoon meringue into bag; twist top to partially close bag.
• Squeeze bag to pipe meringue into 4-inch ghosts on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Place 3 chocolate chips in each ghost for eyes and mouth. Place cookie sheets on center rack in oven.
• Bake at 200°F. for 2 hours. Cool 10 minutes or until completely cooled. Remove cookies from parchment paper.