Meringues

I’m kind of on a roll for posts about the many unique properties of eggs lately, and after accidentally spending my afternoon reading pastry blogs, I decided to bake up some meringues. There’s something particularly amazing about whipping up something that looks as unappetizing as egg whites into a mass of fluffy white cloud. I was particularly happy about getting to use a piping bag and pastry tip, as I spent good money on these things and they’ve been stowed away for almost a year now without a single use.

If someone knows a way to get that satisfying brittle crunch out of a lemon meringue pie the way a meringue cookie cracks in your mouth, please let me know. The texture of a slowly baked meringue cookie is truly unique. I’m not wild about their flavor as a standalone, but if I could achieve that crispness as a topping for custard or lemon curd, I’d whip some up much more often.

This recipe follows the methodology for “French” meringue, because it is the type, as far as I know, most suited to meringue cookies and macarons. It is important to use caster sugar for this recipe. Caster sugar is a superfine sugar. If you were to use normal white sugar, the meringue’s texture would likely be noticeably gritty instead of soft and delicate. To make caster sugar, if you do not keep it around your house, you can simply pulse white sugar in your food processor until it is superfine. I’ve been reading this for years and thought that was a load of bunk because my food processor blade does not seem to strike particularly low in its basin; but it worked. It worked really well, actually, to an extent that I’m now trying to figure out what I can use caster sugar for that I haven’t been for all these years. Creme brulee, here I come!

The baking process for the meringues can literally take hours because the temperature is so low, but you cannot rush it. It takes time for the meringues to properly dry out. However, if you hate waiting on things or have a wife who prefers them chewy in the middle, then you can free up your oven for the afternoon by pulling them out of the oven in an hour or so. Since my wife bought me a digital scale for such purposes at Christmas, and pastry is usually measured in weight instead of cups for precision, it might help you to know that the ratio I learned is 30g egg whites to 50g caster sugar. The vanilla can be added to taste and the icing sugar is simply added because the cornstarch in it helps as a stabilizer.

Meringue Cookies

• 3 large eggs, just the whites, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon icing sugar
• 3/4 cup caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees (yes, Fahrenheit) with the rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
2. Using an electric mixer on its lowest setting (or by hand with a whisk, if you’re so inclined) whisk the egg whites, vanilla and icing sugar in a non-reactive bowl until they hold soft peaks. They should be glossy and white with no visible weeping of liquid.
3. Continue mixing as you gradually add the sugar by the tablespoon until it has all become incorporated.
4. Whip the egg whites to firm peaks. Take a bit of the mixture and press it between your fingers. If it feels gritty, continue mixing until the mixture feels smooth.
5. Fill a piping bag with a 1/2″ pastry tip (or a Ziploc bag with the end cut off, or a funnel of parchment paper, or simply use spoons). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pipe out 12 equal dollops of meringue.
6. Place them into the oven and bake, turning the sheet 180 degrees every 45 minutes to ensure even cooking. After an hour and a half, depending on the amount of moisture contained in the whites, they may be done. Take out a sample, crack it open, and if it meets your standards, turn off the oven, crack the door and allow them to cool to room temperature.

I’ve read that these will keep in an airtight jar for at least a week. I’ve never seen a pastry shop keep meringues in airtight jars. I have no idea what the turnover is for meringues, but I swear the same meringues have been sitting in some store windows for years with no visible depreciation. I suppose it doesn’t really matter though, as meringues have never lasted more than a day in our kitchen.