Meringues

After visiting the blog of my friend, Monique, of La Table de Nana, I was so enamored of her pretty pink meringues, I couldn't wait to make some, too.  I immediately took a few eggs out of the fridge to come to room temperature.

I've never tried coloring meringues before, but since Monique's came out so gorgeous tinted a soft pink, I thought I would try a little coloring, as well.  I didn't want to be a total copycat, so I chose to tinge half of the meringues a soft baby blue while leaving the rest of them white.  I love the way they came out - almost cloud-like!

I did use a slightly different recipe than Ms. M's.  The recipe I used called for cream of tartar as opposed to vinegar and a baking time of 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours.  I also tweaked the recipe I used by using almond extract in lieu of vanilla extract.  The taste is delicious and the white meringues stayed truly pristine white.

Thank you, Monique, for another lovely idea!  Pretty and tasty, too!


Meringue Cookies

3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup superfine or caster sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30 seconds in a food processor)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 200 F. and place the rack in the center of your oven. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. You can form the cookies with a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch star tip, place in a Ziploc bag and snip a corner, or just mound with a teaspoon.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the almond extract.

Note: The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.

Pipe or spoon meringues onto prepared baking sheet. Bake the meringues for approximately 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking. The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying for several hours or even overnight.


Adapted from JoyOfBaking.com

For Printable Recipe, Click Here

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Thanks to Michael, of Designs by Gollum, for sponsoring another Foodie Friday!  Check out her site for the delightful dishes of all the other participants!