I love meringues.
They are light-airy-fluffy-crunchy-melty pillows of joy.
The secret reason that I love these is that they look fancy, but are really easy to make. And don’t even get me started on the ingredient list. You could whip these babies together with the kind of ingredients you have in a minimally stocked fridge (with the exception of cream of tartar, which you should just buy and keep around forever for meringues).
Meringue Cookies (makes about 60 small cookies) recipe from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook (and no, I’m not kidding)
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/8 t salt
- 1/8 t cream of tartar
- 1/2 t vanilla extract
- 1/2 C granulated sugar
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or nonstick baking mats).
Combine the egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla and beat until soft mounds form.
Slowly add the sugar until stiff peaks form–the mixture should still be shiny and smooth. If it looks dry or “curdled”, it’s been overbeaten.
Fill a pastry bag with a star or round tip and pipe small one-inch cookies on the cookie sheet.
You can also use a spoon and just dollop them on, too.
Or use a freezer bag as a makeshift pastry bag and just cut off the corner.
Bake for about an hour, rotating the pans halfway through. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside the oven to continue drying out.
I will admit that I ate a ridiculous amount of these with the rest of the cranberry lemon curd from the other day. They tasted like a mini-meringue pie…so delicious.
And hey, it’s only two egg whites and a half a cup of sugar, total, so it could be worse–right?!
Fritz and I just finished watching the documentary Catfish with Nev Shulman, and we loved it! Definitely check it out if you want an interesting movie night. I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone who hasn’t seen it or heard of it, but it’s amazing the story that someone can weave.
6 comments
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Caitlin
February 6, 2013 at 1:17 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Meringues are also one of my favourites. I saw a recipe where you add a pack of the Duncan Hines Frosting Creations to make them into crazy flavours like Cotton Candy or Butterscotch.
Chris @ Shared Appetite
February 6, 2013 at 6:43 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Such beautiful photos in this post! These look great, may just have to whip up a batch this weekend
Joanne
February 6, 2013 at 5:08 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
One of my favorite cookies that my mom makes at christmas time and I didn’t get any this year. I think I will have to make some.
Morgana
February 7, 2013 at 8:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
can v replace cream of tartar with another ingredient that has a similar function?
Lauren Zietsman
February 7, 2013 at 9:54 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I just googled it and some places said you can substitute lemon juice? I’ve never tried it personally so I’m not sure if it will work! let me know if you try it.
BentleyBooks
February 19, 2013 at 12:36 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Meringues are a favorite of mine. They are also wonderful with the tiny chocolate chips added.
I recently had to give up sugar and have been trying various substitutes. I read somewhere that Splenda is great in meringues. I’m going to find out tomorrow.