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Meringue
Cookies:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (105 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of your oven. Line
a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can form the cookies with a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm)
plain tip, or just use two spoons.
In the bowl of
your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on
low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat
the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time,
and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the
vanilla extract.
Note: The
meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between
your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty
the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between
your fingers.
Before placing
the cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside
of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding.
Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) tip. Pipe
2 1/2 inch (6 cm) rounds of meringue in rows on the prepared baking sheet.
Alternatively, just spoon mounds of meringue, using two spoons, onto the
prepared sheets.
Bake the meringues
for approximately 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front
to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking.
The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to
finish drying overnight.
Makes about 10
- 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) meringues.
Eton
Mess: Place about one third of the strawberries in your
food processor and
process until pureed.
Cut the rest of
the strawberries into bite size pieces and place in a
large bowl, along with the pureed strawberries. Sprinkle the granulated white
sugar over the strawberries and stir to combine. Break five to six meringue
cookies (use more or less if you like) into bite size pieces .
In a large
bowl, whip the
heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form (sweetened with a little sugar if
desired). Then fold in the strawberries and meringue cookies. Serve in
dessert bowls or long stemmed glasses with a little strawberry sauce (if desired) drizzled over the
top.
Serves 4 - 6
servings.
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