Meringue Trees Food

MERINGUE TREES WITH SNOW

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat together the egg whites and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. While beating, add the confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
• While the mixer is still running, add the green food coloring and mix until combined. Put the meringue into a disposable piping bag fitted with a large star piping tip. Holding the bag at a 90-degree angle to the baking sheet, pipe a large star and then two smaller stars on top to create a tree; repeat until all the meringue is gone.
• 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.
• Once the meringues have cooled, dust the tops with confectioners' sugar to resemble snow.
• Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

MERINGUE TREES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
• Place 3 egg whites and granulated sugar in a mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water and heat, whisking occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form and bottom of bowl is cool to the touch, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in 1 teaspoon cornstarch and vinegar, then gel paste. Transfer meringue to a large pastry bag (with no tip).
• Add remaining 3 egg whites and brown sugar to clean mixer bowl set over pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to mixer and beat on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form and bottom of bowl is cool to the touch, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch and transfer to another large pastry bag (with no tip).
• Fit a third pastry bag with a large open-star tip (such as Ateco #829). Lay bag on its side; pipe white-sugar meringue to fill one side, then brown-sugar meringue to fill other side. Pipe small dots of combined meringue in corners of prepared baking sheets to secure parchment. Holding pastry bag at a 90-degree angle about 1/2 inch above parchment, pipe base layer of each tree, about 2 inches in diameter, in a swirling fashion. Lift bag straight up, yielding a "kiss" shape. Pipe a smaller layer on top, followed by an even smaller top layer to complete the tree. Be careful to hold the piping bag completely vertical as you work so that the trees don?t lean or fall over.
• Transfer sheets to oven and reduce heat to 200 degrees. Bake until meringues feel firm but still pliable and are not taking on any color, about 2 hours. Let cool completely on baking sheets on wire racks. Trees can be stored in a single layer (without touching) in an airtight container up to 1 week.

COCONUT MERINGUE TREE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 ̊ F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Trace an 8-inch and a 4-inch circle on 1 sheet of parchment. Trace a 6-inch, 2-inch and 1-inch circle on the second sheet. Flip over both sheets (the circles should still be visible).
• Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and set the bowl over the saucepan (don't let the bowl touch the water). Whisk in the granulated sugar and cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture registers 165 ̊ F on an instant-read thermometer, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer and fit with the whisk attachment; add the cream of tartar. Beat on high speed until glossy with very stiff peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract. Reduce the speed to medium and beat until the mixer bowl is no longer hot to the touch, 2 to 3 more minutes.
• Transfer about half of the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Starting with the largest traced circle, pipe a ruffled edge around the perimeter. Use some of the remaining meringue from the bowl to fill the circle so the middle is just slightly higher than the piped border. Pipe a second smaller circle of ruffles on top to create a tiered effect. Repeat with the 6-, 4- and 2-inch circles, creating 2 tiers of ruffles on each. Pipe the 1-inch circle, finishing with a peak on top. Transfer the baking sheets to the oven and bake until the meringues are crisp but not browned, about 2 hours. Turn off the oven and let the meringues cool in the oven.
• When ready to assemble, beat the heavy cream in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of coconut and confectioners' sugar, then beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract and whisk just to combine.
• Dust all 5 meringue tiers lightly with confectioners' sugar. Set the 8-inch layer on a serving platter or cake stand and spread a thick layer of whipped cream on top, just to where the ruffles start. Repeat with the remaining meringue layers and whipped cream, working from the largest to the smallest meringues to build the tree. Dust with more confectioners' sugar.

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.

CHRISTMAS TREE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 120C/100C fan/gas ½. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and fit a large piping bag with a star nozzle. Put the egg whites in a clean bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk to soft peaks using electric beaters, about a minute or two. Add the sugar while whisking, a spoonful at a time, whisking well between each addition, until all of the sugar has been added and you have a thick, glossy meringue. Whisk in the cornflour and vinegar, then enough of the green food colouring to create a light green colour.
• Spoon the meringue into the piping bag. Start by piping the circular base, then spiral up so you have a Christmas tree shape. Put an edible star on top, if using, and sprinkle with hundreds and thousands. Repeat until you have 12 trees. Put the trees in the oven for 1 hr until crisp to the touch. Turn off the heat and leave in the oven for 1 hr to cool gradually.

NEVER-EVER-FAIL MERINGUE

Steps:

• Blend cornstarch and cold water in a saucepan. Add boiling water, and cook until thick and clear. Cool completely.
• Beat egg whites till foamy. Gradually beat in sugar, beating until stiff and glossy. Add salt and vanilla, and slowly beat in cold cornstarch mixture. Beat quickly for several minutes. Spread meringue on filled, cooled 9-inch pie.
• Bake pie at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes until tips of meringue begin to brown.

FESTIVE MERINGUE CHRISTMAS TREES

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 200°. Add vanilla, cream of tartar and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form, about 7 minutes. Tint with green food coloring and mix thoroughly., Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag; insert a large #828 open star tip. Transfer meringue to bag. Pipe 2-in.-diameter tree shapes 2 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets; top with sprinkles and a star nonpareil. , Bake until firm to the touch, about 3 hours. Turn off oven and open door all the way; leave meringues in oven until cool. Remove meringues from parchment. If desired, sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.