This is another Sherrytrifle skills builder. I have never made meringue before so I had fun last night whipping up some egg white and confectioners' sugar. I picked a recipe from one of my favorite sites, Allrecipes:
Authentic French Meringues
Ingredients:
4 egg whites 2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Butter and flour a baking sheet.
2. In a glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer. Sprinkle in sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny like satin, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet using a large round tip or star tip.
3. Place the meringues in the oven and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it from closing all the way. Bake for 3 hours, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.
I halved the ingredients and it made 7 nicely rounded meringues. They are quite flat and crisp, maybe they should have more whirl and twirl but that should come with more practice. I'm going to use them to top a cake for my next "Tuesday's with Dorie" entry.
I'm in an austerity phase as I have put on quite a bit of weight so no gobbling my baked goods except for tiny pieces; maybe that is how some bakers stay lean. I just tasted the crumbs of meringue that had strayed onto the tray when I was forming them. Pretty good and nice and crisp.
