Snake Meringues Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar. Beat until the mixture is frothy and soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting about 15 seconds between each addition. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat for an additional 5 minutes. The egg whites should be glossy and stiff but not dry.
• Spoon the mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 2-inch cookies onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between each cookie.
• Bake for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the cookies in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Beat whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tblsp at a time, beating until dissolved between additions. This process will take about 10 minutes. Beat in cornflour and tint mixture with food colouring.
• Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm-fluted nozzle. Pipe 16cm-long snake shapes, 4cm-apart, on oven trays lined with baking paper.
• To decorate snakes, cut forked tongues from licorice using a small sharp knife and lightly press into front of meringue heads. Lightly press M&M's on top of heads for eyes.
• Cook in a very slow oven (120C) for about 40 minutes, swapping trays halfway through cooking, or until firm to touch.
• Cool trays in oven with door slightly ajar.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer); beat on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium high; beat in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, then add the extract or zest. Continue beating until the meringue is thick, glossy and holds stiff peaks, about 6 minutes.
• For colored cookies, swirl a few drops of food coloring into the meringue or use a small paintbrush to paint 3 long stripes of food coloring up the inside of a pastry bag. For chocolate chip versions, gently fold the mini chocolate chips into the mixture.
• Drop or pipe the meringue as desired, about 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake 1 hour, then turn off the oven and let the meringues stand in the oven until dry, about 2 hours. Top with or dip in melted chocolate and sprinkle with nonpareils.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 170°F, or the lowest setting on your oven that is closest to this temperature. Move your oven rack to the top third of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Combine raspberries and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir often, crushing berries with the back of a wooden spoon as they cook. As soon as the rasberry mixture becomes syrupy, remove the pan from the heat. Strain the berry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup, pressing down on the berries with a rubber spatula to extract all the juices. You should have about 1/2 cup of raspberry sauce. Discard the seeds and stir the vanilla extract into the sauce. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before proceeding.
• Place egg whites in a mixing bowl and sprinkle the cream of tartar over them. Use a mixer to beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.
• Stir the cooled raspberry sauce, then gently fold 1/3 of the sauce into the beaten egg whites. Repeat two more times with the remaining 2/3 of the raspberry sauce.
• Spoon meringue into a gallon-size zip-top baggie, forcing the mixture to one corner of the bag. Snip about 1/4" from the corner of the bag so meringues can be piped onto the prepared pan. Pipe out 1 1/2 inch swirled circles onto baking sheet, making sure that the meringues don't touch. If you prefer, meringues can be gently scooped and dropped by rounded teaspoonfuls instead of piping.
• Bake for 2 hours at 170°F, rotating the baking sheet after 1 hour so they will dry evenly. When done, the meringues should not have any browning, and they should be dark pink in color.
• Turn off the oven and allow meringues to remain in the oven for at least two hours to finish drying, or you can leave them in the oven overnight.
• Meringues can be stored in an airtight container for 5 days, or they can be frozen for up to one month. If frozen, allow to thaw to room temp before serving.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 110C/ 100C fan/gas ¼.
• Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick liner or parchment paper (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).
• Tip 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
• Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don't over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.
• Sift one third of the 115g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don't over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy.
• Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape. Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer.
• Bake for 1 ½-1 ¾ hours in a fan oven, 1 ¼ hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour.
• Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.) Serve two meringues sandwiched together with a generous dollop of softly whipped double cream.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large clean glass or metal bowl, whip the egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until they can hold a soft peak. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar while continuing to whip to stiff peaks. Fold in the lemon zest. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they peel off of the sheet without resistance. Cool on wire racks, then store in an airtight container at room temperature.