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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 60 Minutes |
Ready In: 60 Minutes Servings: 10 |
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Seasons fantasy with Meringue! Beautiful and eatable. A hometown recipe on the Net. Ingredients:
yield: approximately 18 cookies, depending on size |
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar |
3 tablespoons flour |
3 egg whites, room temperature |
1/2 cup granulated sugar |
1 teaspoon mint or vanilla extract (or try rum, creme de menthe or raspberry brandy) |
1 to 2 drops green or red food coloring |
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together powdered sugar and flour.
3. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the powdered sugar-flour mixture with the extract or liquor. Mix into a paste. Stir in desired food coloring. Set aside.
4. In a stand mixer at high speed or using a hand whisk vigorously, whip egg whites. When the egg whites reach soft peaks, begin sprinkling in the granulated sugar. Add small amounts of sugar as the eggs whip, making your last addition just as the egg whites reach stiff peaks.
5. Turn off mixer. With a spatula, gently fold in the remaining powdered sugar-flour mixture, being careful not to deflate the meringue. Stir in the colored paste mixture.
6. Transfer the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a small- to medium-size star tip. Pipe tree shapes onto parchment-lined baking sheets, each about 1 inch apart.
7. Place one baking sheet on a lower oven rack and one on an upper rack. Bake for 30 minutes, using a wooden spoon to keep the oven door ajar. Reverse the positions of the baking sheets and continue baking an additional 30 to 40 minutes, with the oven door ajar, until the meringues barely begin to color and are dry inside.
8. Cool to room temperature before decorating with royal icing as desired.
9. COOKIE TIP
10. PIPING: Use back-and-forth serpentine motions. Start narrow at the top and widen as you go. Squeeze the bag with even pressure and increase the width of the back-and-forth motion from the top of the tree to the bottom. For smaller trees, make 4 to 6 back-and-forth strokes. For larger trees, try 8 to 10 strokes.
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