Vanilla meringue cookies
Meringue cookies are one of my favorite cookies. They are crunchy on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside. Any time I have leftover egg whites I love to make these. The cookies are very simple to make and require just a few ingredients. There are many flavors (coffee, chocolate, orange, coconut,...) you can infuse in the meringue cookies but the classic one is vanilla.
When making this cookies it is very important that your mixing bowl and the whisk are clean and not greasy. The egg whites should be at room temperature before you start to whisk them, this ensures fester melting of the sugar and a stiffer meringue. I use powdered instead of the granulated sugar, because it melts faster. I also whisk in a few drops of lemon juice for a stiffer meringue, you can also use cream of tartar for the same effect.
The ratio of egg whites to sugar is 1:2 and it can simply be doubled or tripled. Instead of vanilla extract you can use any kind of extract that you prefer. The meringue can also be colored, I used pink food coloring. I painted stripes on the inside of my piping bag to give the meringue a streaky effect. The baking time of the cookies depends on the size and of the texture you want to achieve. I baked mine for 45 minutes because I wanted them to have a soft marshmallow-y center. For the completely dried cookies bake them a little longer.
After the cookies were baked and cooled I dipped them in milk chocolate and sprinkled over some toasted coconut and sugar decorations. I also made a meringue cookie lollipop. The combination of chocolate and a crunchy meringue was delicious and I would recommend that you give it a try.
For the meringue:
Making the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 95°C (200°F), I use fan oven setting.
Place the egg whites in a bowl of your electric or hand mixer and whisk until foamy, add a few drops of fresh lemon juice to the egg whites (this helps with the stabilization of the egg whites). Slowly begin adding the sugar a tablespoon at the time. Whisk until the sugar is completely incorporated. Take the small amount of mixture between you fingers, the mixture should not feel gritty, if it is whisk more until the mixture feels smooth. The meringue should be glossy and should hold stiff peaks.
Place the meringue in a piping bag (color the piping bag from inside with food coloring for colorful meringues) with a star attachment or you can just use a spoon. Pipe or spoon small amounts of meringue on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies) or until the meringue looks dry (do not open the oven). Turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for 2 hours or until completely cooled.
Decorating:
I tempered the chocolate, for a shiny finish on the meringues. You can avoid tempering the chocolate and just use melted chocolate to dip your meringue cookies in, but it would take a while for the chocolate to set and it won't be as shinny.
To temper the chocolate:
Chop 75 grams of milk chocolate in medium sized pieces, put in the heat-proof bowl and set aside. Chop the remaining 25 grams of the chocolate in tiny pieces and set aside. Put some water in a pot and heat gently to a simmer. Place the bowl with 75 grams of chocolate on top of the pot, the water should not touch the bowl. When the chocolate starts to melt, stir and check the temperature. Keep checking the temperature until it reaches 40-45°C (104-113°F). When the chocolate reaches the right temperature take the bowl of the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate. The temperature should drop. Stir the chocolate gently to cool until it reaches 27°C (81°F). This may take a while, depending on the room temperature. When the chocolate is cool enough place the bowl back on the pot of simmering water and heat back to 29-30°C (85-88°F).
Take the meringue cookies and dip them, one at the time, in the chocolate. Here you can use your imagination and decorate your cookies any way you like. Sprinkle over some toasted coconut or sugar decorations and place in a cool and dark place for the chocolate to harden. For the meringue lollipop, place the meringue in the chocolate and on top of the lollipop stick, smear some extra chocolate over the stick so that the meringue won't fall off. Wait for the chocolate to set.
When making this cookies it is very important that your mixing bowl and the whisk are clean and not greasy. The egg whites should be at room temperature before you start to whisk them, this ensures fester melting of the sugar and a stiffer meringue. I use powdered instead of the granulated sugar, because it melts faster. I also whisk in a few drops of lemon juice for a stiffer meringue, you can also use cream of tartar for the same effect.
The ratio of egg whites to sugar is 1:2 and it can simply be doubled or tripled. Instead of vanilla extract you can use any kind of extract that you prefer. The meringue can also be colored, I used pink food coloring. I painted stripes on the inside of my piping bag to give the meringue a streaky effect. The baking time of the cookies depends on the size and of the texture you want to achieve. I baked mine for 45 minutes because I wanted them to have a soft marshmallow-y center. For the completely dried cookies bake them a little longer.
After the cookies were baked and cooled I dipped them in milk chocolate and sprinkled over some toasted coconut and sugar decorations. I also made a meringue cookie lollipop. The combination of chocolate and a crunchy meringue was delicious and I would recommend that you give it a try.
Vanilla meringue cookies
(Makes about 15 medium cookies)
Time:
Preparation: 20min
Baking: 45-50min
Cooling: 2 hours
For the meringue:
- 1 room temperature egg white (approximately 35g)
- 70g icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- a few drops of lemon juice
- 100g milk chocolate
- toasted coconut
- sugar decorations
Making the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 95°C (200°F), I use fan oven setting.
Place the egg whites in a bowl of your electric or hand mixer and whisk until foamy, add a few drops of fresh lemon juice to the egg whites (this helps with the stabilization of the egg whites). Slowly begin adding the sugar a tablespoon at the time. Whisk until the sugar is completely incorporated. Take the small amount of mixture between you fingers, the mixture should not feel gritty, if it is whisk more until the mixture feels smooth. The meringue should be glossy and should hold stiff peaks.
Place the meringue in a piping bag (color the piping bag from inside with food coloring for colorful meringues) with a star attachment or you can just use a spoon. Pipe or spoon small amounts of meringue on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies) or until the meringue looks dry (do not open the oven). Turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for 2 hours or until completely cooled.
Decorating:
I tempered the chocolate, for a shiny finish on the meringues. You can avoid tempering the chocolate and just use melted chocolate to dip your meringue cookies in, but it would take a while for the chocolate to set and it won't be as shinny.
To temper the chocolate:
Chop 75 grams of milk chocolate in medium sized pieces, put in the heat-proof bowl and set aside. Chop the remaining 25 grams of the chocolate in tiny pieces and set aside. Put some water in a pot and heat gently to a simmer. Place the bowl with 75 grams of chocolate on top of the pot, the water should not touch the bowl. When the chocolate starts to melt, stir and check the temperature. Keep checking the temperature until it reaches 40-45°C (104-113°F). When the chocolate reaches the right temperature take the bowl of the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate. The temperature should drop. Stir the chocolate gently to cool until it reaches 27°C (81°F). This may take a while, depending on the room temperature. When the chocolate is cool enough place the bowl back on the pot of simmering water and heat back to 29-30°C (85-88°F).
Take the meringue cookies and dip them, one at the time, in the chocolate. Here you can use your imagination and decorate your cookies any way you like. Sprinkle over some toasted coconut or sugar decorations and place in a cool and dark place for the chocolate to harden. For the meringue lollipop, place the meringue in the chocolate and on top of the lollipop stick, smear some extra chocolate over the stick so that the meringue won't fall off. Wait for the chocolate to set.
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