INGREDIENTS
1 large egg whites, at room temperature 30 minutes, divided
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (or whatever flavour you want)
1 pinch of cream of tartar, divided
1/4 cup superfine granulated sugar, divided
1 (3 1/2-ounce) bar 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS
Make vanilla meringues:
Preheat oven to 200°F with racks in upper, middle, and lower thirds of oven (or use 2 racks and bake in batches). Line 2 or 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat 1 egg white with vanilla (for vanilla meringues) and a pinch each of cream of tartar and salt with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until it just holds soft peaks. Add 2 tablespoons superfine sugar, a little at a time, beating, then increase speed to high and beat until meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks. Fold in 2 tablespoons superfine sugar gently but thoroughly.
Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with tip, then dab some meringue under corners of parchment on all baking sheets to secure to sheets. Pipe 1-inch-wide stars (1 inch high) about 1/2 inch apart.
Bake meringues:
Bake, switching position of upper and lower sheets halfway through baking, until dry, crisp, and firm, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Meringues are done when they release from parchment.)
Turn off oven and cool meringues in oven with door propped open about 1/2 inch using handle of a wooden spoon 1 hour, then slide parchment with meringues onto racks to cool completely.
Dip meringues in chocolate:
Line a large baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
Stir together chocolate and vegetable oil until completely smooth. Peel meringues off parchment, then dip bottom of each into chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer meringues to lined baking sheet, arranging as close together as possible, and when baking sheet is full, freeze meringues just until chocolate is set, about 3 minutes. Remove meringues from freezer.
NOTE: I used the largest star tip I had for my meringues. To avoid stickiness, try to bake meringues on a dry day. Dipped meringues keep, layered between sheets of parchment or wax paper, in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 week. To achieve the marbled look, paint stripes in the inside of your piping bag with food coloring gel.
Variations:
You can use whatever flavour of extract you want instead of the vanilla. I've had or made them using peppermint, cherry, spearmint, orange and lemon. I've also added peppermint to the chocolate meringue variation to make chocolate-mint meringues. You could also add dyes for colour variations to go with the flavours (peppermint - I've seen done with 1/2 the mixture red and 1/2 white and then swirled together before putting into the pastry bag).
You can also experiment with shapes for the meringues. I've seen peppermint meringues dyed green and shaped into Christmas trees or wreaths, pink cherry or strawberry hearts for Valentine's Day, vanilla bones for Halloween, chocolate bunnies for Easter, the list is endless.
Make coffee meringues:
using same amounts and procedure as above but using espresso powder (1 1/2 teaspoons) in place of vanilla.
Make chocolate meringues:
Sift 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder through a fine-mesh sieve and whisk together with 2 tablespoons superfine sugar (from the 1/4 cup).
This recipe is also linked to...
Allergy Friendly Friday
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