meringues

I love meringues! And they always seem to be a crowd favorite where ever I take them. They are very easy to make, but look very dainty and impressive to whomever is receiving them!

One great thing about meringues is that you can make them in any flavor. I made a bunch of different ones at Christmas: vanilla, chocolate, maple, peppermint, and raspberry. Another great thing about meringues is that they are so easy to make! And if you have little ones that can help it's really fun for them to watch because it's almost like a science experiment.


After 5 minutes of mixing.



After 10 minutes of mixing.

These are raspberry and lavender vanilla (using the lavender vanilla sugar we made a couple weeks ago.) I thought these flavors seemed perfect for Valentine's Day, and of course I used some purple and pink food coloring. I like to use the Wilton icing colors because you get nice, vibrant colors without watering down whatever you're making.

Piping them with a big 1M tip makes them look like sweet little morsels, instead of just shapless blobs. And there's something sattisfying about creating row after row of pretty swirls.

 



 

This is not your typical meringue recipe because I don't use egg whites and I don't use cream of tarter. Instead I use Wilton Meringue Powder (Geez, I should have gotten Wilton to sponsor this post :) ). The baking time might vary according to several factors: how long you actually mixed the ingredients for (I recommend using a timer so there's no guessing involved), what type of cookie sheet you're using (if you use a stone it takes much longer to bake), and humidity in the air. You'll be able to tell if they're done or not when you check on them. You can click {here} for the recipe.