Meringue Kisses
Red and Pink Meringue Cookies
A nice cookie to give with your other sweet gifts for the holidays!
These little cookies are a great addition to any holiday cookie gift. They are light and are fun to decorate. I especially like to add a little food coloring to enhance the visual aspect of the cookie. Although these cookies are easy to make, here is some tips to ensure that your cookies come out as well as possible!
Make sure your bowl is clean and dry. Any water or oil might affect the way your egg whites beat, so its best to make sure that your bowl and whisk are dry.
Beat your egg whites at room temperature. I would separate the egg whites and yolk, then let the egg whites come to room temperature. The egg whites have an easier time whipping up when not straight from the fridge.
Develop your speed slowly. I start my stand mixer speed at low/medium, then increase speed as the eggs froth more. I find that starting the mixer speed at high, the egg whites have a harder time building viscosity.
Add the sugar in separate additions. Your end product should be smooth, glossy and no sugar granules in the final meringue.
Meringue ready to be put into decorating bags and piped.
Ingredients
2 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp of sugar (6 tablespoons)
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
Turn oven to 225F
Your stand mixer should be attached with the whisk attachment. Start mixer on medium/low speed and when egg whites start to get frothy, increase speed. When the egg whites start to thicken into soft peaks, add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Eventually, your mixer speed will increase to high. Add the vanilla and salt at the end. You can substitute the vanilla for almond extract, peppermint, lemon, or whatever you want. Be creative! You know when the meringue has finished beating when it is very glossy, no sugar granules remain, and the meringue is stiff and doesn’t fall off the whisk.
You can either pipe the meringue onto a baking sheet (with parchment paper or silicone mat), or dollop evenly spooned amounts onto your baking sheet. If you want to add food color, simply brush a small amount of food gel into your piping bag (starting at the tip) in a line vertically. If you guys want me to do a tutorial on this and piping, let me know!
Bake meringues for 1 hour, turn off oven and let them sit in the oven for a couple of hours or overnight. Tell others in your household not to open the oven at all - either during baking or when the oven is off.
