Vanilla Meringues
Instructions:
- Light, sweet, and low in fat, meringues are the perfect
use for leftover egg whites, as long as the weather is
dry. If your oven is small, divide the recipe in half; you
want to bake all the meringues at once. You can stir in
all kinds of ingredients before baking if you like (nuts,
toasted coconut, even bits of dried fruit); just chop
them up a bit and don’t use more than a cup or so.
These are sort of chewy on the inside, with a crackly
exterior, which is how I like them.
- 4 egg whites at room temperature
- 1 cup superfine sugar
- Seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- Pinch salt
- Heat the oven to 300 F. Use an electric mixer or a whisk to beat the whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar, vanilla, vinegar, cornstarch, and salt and beat until the mixture makes stiff peaks.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
- Use a pastry bag, a zipper bag with a corner cut out, a spoon, or wet hands to form small mounds of the meringue mixture, each a couple tablespoons (larger if you like); you can space them quite closely since they won’t rise (see the illustrations and sidebar, previous page).
- Bake until hard and very lightly browned, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the baking sheet and cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before eating. These keep well in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Cocoa Meringues.
- Substitute 1/4 cup cocoa powder for
the vanilla.
- Mocha Meringues.
- Add 1 more egg white. Substitute 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 shot freshly brewed espresso or strong coffee for the vanilla.
- MAKES: 4 to 5 dozen
- TIME: 2 hours or more, largely unattended