Meringue

Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar.

These confections are light, airy, delicious and low-fat! Color them to suit your special occasion--purple, pink, green, and blue for Easter, pink for Valentine's Day, pink and blue for a baby shower--the possibilities are endless!

Few types of meringue.



French Macaroons - Picture from votregrandesoeur.com



French meringue is the method best known to home cooks. Fine white sugar is beaten into egg whites. These ones with fillingd are called macaroons.

Italian Meringue - Picture from madbaker.net

Italian meringue is made with boiling sugar syrup, instead of caster sugar. This leads to a much more stable soft meringue which can be used in various pastries without collapsing. In an Italian meringue, a hot sugar syrup is whipped into softly whipped egg whites till stiff. This type of meringue is safe to use without cooking. It will not deflate for a long while and can be used on pies. 

Swiss Meringue -Picture from martha stewart

Swiss meringue is whisked over a bain-marie ( water bath ) to warm the egg whites, and then whisked steadily until it cools. This forms a dense, glossy marshmallow-like meringue.



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My friends and I were having a pot luck party at her shop and i decided to add this sweet but low fat dessert fro their sweet tooth.

Meringue Cookies ( from McCormick.com )

Ingredients

4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon Cream of tartar 

1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

25 to 30 drops of food colours of your choice

1 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 225°F.

Beat egg whites in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. (If using a freestanding mixer, use wire whisk attachment.) Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Increase speed to medium-high. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until sugar is dissolved and stiff peaks form. Beat in extract and food color until well blended. Gently stir in chips, if desired.

Scrape all the batter in a piping bag and piped out any kind of shapes you want. ( in these case, I made hearts ) and piped out about 1 inch apart onto 2 large foil-lined baking sheets sprayed with non stick cooking spray.

My marbled hearts meringue

Bake both sheets of meringues at the same time 45 minutes. Turn oven off. Let meringues stand in oven 1 hour or until completely cooled.

  

Happy Customers!

Meringues eaten like biscuits are baked at a very low heat for a long time. One name for them is "Forgotten Cookies"as they can be left in a gas oven for long periods of time after the cooking is done. They are not supposed to be "tanned" at all, but they need to be very crisp and dry. They will keep for at least a week if stored in an airtight container.

 Tips For Meringue Success

• When making meringues, always cook egg whites or use purchased pasteurized egg whites to avoid salmonella poisoning.
• Use fresh egg whites. Old egg whites tend to collapse when other ingredients are folded in, and they don't rise well in the oven.
• Use eggs at room temperature if possible. Cold egg whites tend to reduce meringue volume.
• Never let any yolk get into the whites.
• Don't overbeat egg whites. (Overbeaten egg whites will look hard, lumpy or dry). When whipping egg whites, always start your mixer on medium-low to medium speed. Beat them until foamy and increase the speed to medium-high and then to high. If the egg whites are beaten too quickly at the beginning, the structure of the foam will not be as strong, and later the egg whites will not beat as high as they should.
• A small amount of cream of tartar or vinegar can be added to the mixture at the beginning of whipping to help stabilize the foam and make it less likely to collapse.
• Don't use plastic bowls – they can retain a film of fat from previously mixed or stored items that can deflate the meringue.
• Don't make meringues on humid days. Humidity causes meringues to be sticky and chewy.
• Bake meringues at low temperatures because they tend to brown quickly.
• Leave hard meringues in the oven after baking so they will cool slowly and not crack.

try it! You'll love it!

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