Variation Nut Meringue Recipes

HAZELNUT MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Line the back of a 12" x 18" rimmed sheet pan or a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 225F with the rack centered.
• Prepare meringue according to the recipe.
• Meanwhile, roughly chop 1 cup of hazelnuts. If you're planning to pipe your meringue with a piping tip, you will need to chop the hazelnuts very fine so they do not clog up the tip.
• Add chopped hazelnut pieces to the whipped meringue.
• Carefully, with folding motion (going under, and over) incorporate the hazelnuts into the meringue with minimal amount of strokes.
• Fit a pastry bag with a large french open star tip and fill the bag with hazelnut meringue.
• Pipe the stars onto parchment paper in 25-30 mounts spacing them about 1- 1.5 inches apart OR use two spoons to spoon the meringues. Sprinkle meringues with chopped hazelnuts if you wish. You can make the mounts as even or rough as you want.
• Bake in preheated to 225F oven for 2 hours. To check if the hazelnut meringues are done drying, remove one meringue and break it in half. Let cool and check the center. If the center is dry, the meringues are done.Turn off the oven, leave the oven door ajar by putting a wooden spoon in the crack. Allow to completely cool.

HARD MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275°F (140°C).
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
• Beat egg whites in large bowl with electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 30 mL) at a time, until sugar is dissolved and stiff glossy peaks form. Beat in vanilla.
• To make Meringue Kisses, pipe or dollop about 2 tbsp (30 mL) meringue per cooking on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 275°F (140°C) oven until firm, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.
• Makes 4 dozen.

CHOCOLATE NUT MERINGUES

Steps:

• beat egg whites until stiff peaks form in a glass or aluminum bowl.
• fold in sugar and cocoa, mixing well.
• fold in nuts (if using them).
• using a spoon and a spatula place ~2 T lumps of the batter on an un-greased baking sheet. This is key--there must be no fat that touches the batter or else the meringues will collapse.
• bake at 200F for several hours (welcome suggestions on temp and time). I usually bake them for 2+ hours and then let them sit in the oven for several more hours until the insides are not gooey.

NUTTY MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, using a hand beater, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and vanilla until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the sugar dissolves and stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold in the chopped nuts.
• Drop the batter onto silicone mats or parchment lined baking sheets (will need 2) with a teaspoon, spacing at least 2 inches apart. Bake until the meringues are dried through, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The cookies will remove easily from the parchment or silicone mat when ready.
• Cook's Note: Do not bake on humid days. Dye these any color to suit a seasonal event. For orange cookies, add 5 drops of food coloring.

BASIC MERINGUES WITH VARIATIONS OR A LARGE PAVLOVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 100°C - 120°C Do not use the oven fan if possible.
• Beat the four egg whites with the cream of tartar using an electric mixer. Bring to 'soft peak' stage.
• Add 1/3 of the sugar and continue to beat to 'firm peak' stage- approx another 3 minutes. Then add the remaining sugar one spoon at a time whilst continuing to beat.
• Continue beating until the mixture is shiny and the sugar has totally dissolved. Feel the meringue mix with your fingertips and you should not be able to feel any gritty sugar. Continue to beat until the sugar has dissolved, if required.
• Sift the cornflour over the meringue and add the vinegar. Fold in gently.
• Use a spoon or pipe the mixture to form meringues onto a cookie tray lined with baking paper.
• Bake approx 60 minutes, or until firm and dry. During cooking reduce the oven temperature if the meringues are browning rather than drying out. When cooked, turn the oven off and leave the oven door slightly ajar. Allow the meringues to cool in the oven for about an hour, or leave overnight.
• Store in an airtight container. They should keep at least a few days.
• ____VARIATIONS ____.
• Flavoured meringues-add some vanilla or other essence of your choice whilst folding in the cornflour.
• Coloured meringues- add some food colouring of your choice and beat through before folding in the cornflour.
• Chocolate meringues- sift in 2 tablespoons of Dutch cocoa with the cornflour. You can also add ground or finely chopped nuts if desired.
• Coconut meringues- lightly fold through 1/2 cup of shredded or dessicated coconut with the cornflour.
• Almond meringues- fold through 1/2 cup ground almonds with the cornflour. You can also add some almond essence if desired.
• Lime or Lemon Meringues- fold through finely zested lime or lemon zest with the cornflour. A teaspoon of juice can be used instead of/substitute for the white vinegar.
• Sprinkled meringues- sprinkle meringues with finely chopped nuts or 100's and thousands prior to baking.
• For a Large Pavlova- Draw a 22-25 cm (9-10 inch) circle on the baking paper. Turn paper over and place on a large cookie sheet/tray. Use the entire mixture to pile onto the circle. Smooth over the surface and bake for 90 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the pavlova in the closed oven for another hour. After an hour open the oven door and leave the pavlova in the oven to cool. Serve topped with whipped cream or vanilla yogurt. Top with some fruit or grated chocolate. Can also be served with lemon butter/curd instead of cream.
• Small Pavlovas/Individual pavlovas- make as for large pavlova but use 6-8 spoonfuls of meringue per pavlova. Pile the meringue as high as possible. Bake for about 45 minutes.

MERINGUES, CHOCOLATE WALNUT

Steps:

• Directions
• 1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• 2. In a medium, clean, grease-free bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and whip until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually, whipping until stiff but not dry peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by generously rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
• 3. Bake until completely firm and dry, but still white, about 25 minutes; you should be able to lift cookies from pan. Slide parchment onto racks to cool cookies completely.

VARIATION: NUT MERINGUE

Steps:

• Before making the meringue, whirl the almonds in a food processor fitted with the metal blade until finely ground. Add the cornstarch and whirl again. Make Meringue. Fold ground almond mixture into finished meringue by hand.
• Here, cornstarch insulates the meringue from the fat in the nuts, which would otherwise cause it to break down.
• Easy way to pipe out disks of a particular size: trace a plate or other object of appropriate size onto parchment paper. The turn the paper over and use the circles as your guide. Start piping in the center and form a tight spiral out to the edge.