Variation Nut Meringue Food

HAZELNUT MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Line the back of a 12" x 18" rimmed sheet pan or a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 225F with the rack centered.
• Prepare meringue according to the recipe.
• Meanwhile, roughly chop 1 cup of hazelnuts. If you're planning to pipe your meringue with a piping tip, you will need to chop the hazelnuts very fine so they do not clog up the tip.
• Add chopped hazelnut pieces to the whipped meringue.
• Carefully, with folding motion (going under, and over) incorporate the hazelnuts into the meringue with minimal amount of strokes.
• Fit a pastry bag with a large french open star tip and fill the bag with hazelnut meringue.
• Pipe the stars onto parchment paper in 25-30 mounts spacing them about 1- 1.5 inches apart OR use two spoons to spoon the meringues. Sprinkle meringues with chopped hazelnuts if you wish. You can make the mounts as even or rough as you want.
• Bake in preheated to 225F oven for 2 hours. To check if the hazelnut meringues are done drying, remove one meringue and break it in half. Let cool and check the center. If the center is dry, the meringues are done.Turn off the oven, leave the oven door ajar by putting a wooden spoon in the crack. Allow to completely cool.

MERINGUE KISSES WITH VARIATIONS

Steps:

• In large mixing bowl at high speed, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until.
• foamy. Add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly until whites are glossy and stand in stiff peaks.
• Rub just a bit of meringue between thumb and.
• forefinger to feel if sugar has dissolved.
• Gently fold in almonds.
• Drop by tablespoonsful or pipe through pastry tube or food-storage bag onto lightly greased or lined (foil or waxed, brown, or parchment paper) baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated 225 degree oven until firm, about 1 hour.
• Turn off oven.
• Let stand in oven with door closed until cool, dry, and crisp, at least 1 additional hour.
• Store in tightly sealed container with waxed paper between layers.
• (If stored cookies lose crispness, bake in preheated 200ºF oven about 15 to 20 minutes.).
• Variations:.
• Use amounts listed for 1 batch of cookies.
• To make 2 variations at a time, divide meringue mixture equally between 2 bowls.
• Beat or fold 1/2 the ingredient amounts listed for 1 variation into 1 of the bowls.
• For all variations, omit ground almonds.
• Brandy Alexander; Beat in 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon brandy extract.
• Chocolate; Beat in 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
• Citrus; Beat in 2 tablespoons grated orange peel, 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, and a few drops yellow food coloring.

HARD MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275°F (140°C).
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
• Beat egg whites in large bowl with electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 30 mL) at a time, until sugar is dissolved and stiff glossy peaks form. Beat in vanilla.
• To make Meringue Kisses, pipe or dollop about 2 tbsp (30 mL) meringue per cooking on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 275°F (140°C) oven until firm, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.
• Makes 4 dozen.

NUTTY MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, using a hand beater, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and vanilla until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the sugar dissolves and stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold in the chopped nuts.
• Drop the batter onto silicone mats or parchment lined baking sheets (will need 2) with a teaspoon, spacing at least 2 inches apart. Bake until the meringues are dried through, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The cookies will remove easily from the parchment or silicone mat when ready.
• Cook's Note: Do not bake on humid days. Dye these any color to suit a seasonal event. For orange cookies, add 5 drops of food coloring.

CHOCOLATE NUT MERINGUES

Steps:

• beat egg whites until stiff peaks form in a glass or aluminum bowl.
• fold in sugar and cocoa, mixing well.
• fold in nuts (if using them).
• using a spoon and a spatula place ~2 T lumps of the batter on an un-greased baking sheet. This is key--there must be no fat that touches the batter or else the meringues will collapse.
• bake at 200F for several hours (welcome suggestions on temp and time). I usually bake them for 2+ hours and then let them sit in the oven for several more hours until the insides are not gooey.

HAZELNUT MERINGUES WITH HAZELNUT PRALINE & CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/100C fan/gas 1. For the meringues, whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice until soft peaks form. Add the caster sugar and continue whisking until stiff, add the icing sugar and ground nuts, then gently fold through until evenly combined. Line a baking tray with baking paper and pipe or spoon out rounds of meringue into 7cm discs. Bake for 1½-2 hrs until crisp outside but still soft in the centre. Leave to cool. You need 3 rounds per person. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container for about 1 week.
• To make the hazelnut praline, warm a small heavy-based pan over a medium heat and cook the caster sugar until it melts and turns a rich caramel colour. Carefully swirl the hazelnuts around the pan (be careful, the sugar is very hot) and allow them to caramelise and brown - about 2 mins. Pour the mixture out onto a tray lined with baking paper. Leave to cool.
• Make the chocolate sauce by heating together 75ml water, the caster sugar and cocoa powder until boiling. Pour over the chocolate and whisk well until smooth.
• To serve, whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Finely chop the cooled praline by hand or in a food processor. Stir most of it through the whipped cream, setting a little aside. Place a meringue disc on each plate and top with a little of the cream. Add another disc, more cream, followed by the final disc. Top with icing sugar, cocoa powder and some of the reserved chopped praline, then spoon around some chocolate sauce