Made with only eggs and sugar and a bit of flavouring, Meringue kisses are just so beautiful with a crisp texture that bursts and melts in your mouth. These Meringue kisses are soft and light, a bit airy inside but crispy on the outside, making them very satisfactory to indulge in.
The good news about meringues is that they are versatile. With just a few adjustments to the ingredients and piping technique, you can make different forms of meringues. Examples of these are; meringue sandwich cookies, meringue pops, meringue bars, meringue pies and Pavlovas.
Meringue kisses have also a wide range of flavourings such as chocolate, peppermint, coconut or vanilla. Most times I make meringue kisses as toppings for cakes or when I am making dessert gift boxes. Or maybe, when I am craving an easy simple dessert to satisfy my sweet tooth.
Tips for Success when making meringues Kisses
Although meringues are easy and simple desserts with only a few ingredients, one wrong move, over beating of eggs, wrong ratios of ingredients, and poor oven temperature management, can easily ruin meringues. Here are some tips to watch out for when making meringues.
- The eggs should be room temperature. Contrary to popular opinion, egg whites whipped at room temperature attain the greatest volume compared to those whipped at cold temperatures. Likewise, beating cold egg whites require more beating time which increases the chances of overbeating.
- Use cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is used as a stabalizer when making a meringue. A good alternative is lemon juice or Citric Acid. According to Prepared foods, cream of tartar chemically known as Potassium bitrate lowers the PH of egg whites which shortens the time necessary for foaming.
- Use clean metal bowls and avoid plastic bowls when whipping Meringues. This is because plastic bowls may have retained fat solids which inhibit foaming action.
- Bake at very low oven temperature to avoid burning and browning of the meringues. The ideal baking temperature would be 105C to 115C.
- Limit the salt. Just a pinch will do.
- Do not leave the meringue mixture out for too long before baking.
- Go easy with the colours. Meringues color easily so make sure to add just a few drops of good quality food color.
- Add the sugar gradually, instead of pouring it all at once into the foamed egg whites.
How to make the perfect Meringues Kisses
Step 1; preheat the oven to 105C and line a baking tray with parchment paper then, set aside. Set up your baking station by assembling all the necessary ingredients, tools and equipment. If the eggs were in the fridge, let them sit unrefrigerated for 30-40 minutes to make them room temperature. The whipping bowl and the whiskers of the electric hand mixer or stand mixer should be completely clean.
Step 2; Separate the egg whites with the egg yolks in a separate bowl, then pour in the egg whites and cream of tartar into the whisking bowl. An egg separator will help immensely.
Step 3; Whip the egg whites on medium speed gradually adding the sugar. Add in the flavouring and salt, then whip more for a few minutes until stiff peaks are formed.
Step 4; Fill a piping bag with the stiff meringue, pipe the meringues on a baking tray, and then bake for one hour at 110C. Afterwards, let the baked meringues sit in the oven for at least two hours ( Switch off the oven but do not remove the meringues or open the oven door. Let them sit for at least 2 hours like this.)
Helpful Tools
- Egg separator.
- Stand mixer or hand mixer.
- Glass or stainless steel bowl.
- Candy thermometor.
- Storage container.
- Baking tray.
How to store Meringues kisses
Meringues can easily melt or be sticky due to the hygroscopic nature of the sugar in the meringues. Therefore, cool them completely and store meringues in a dry airtight sealed container. These can stay fresh for three weeks and up to one month in the freezer.
Meringues stored in the freezer should be thawed for at least two hours before serving. Note that meringues might absorb moisture from the air during thawing therefore, after thawing bake them again for at least 10-15 minutes in a preheated oven 110C
Different Flavor Variatons and designs of Meringue kisses.
- Add cocoa powder for chocolate meringues or make plain vanilla meringues then, dip them in chocolate. For minty meringue add a few drops of peppermint flavour.
- For fruity meringues, make meringue nests or pavlovas then top with whipped cream and fresh fruits. You can also sandwich two different meringue cookies with fresh fruit jam.
- Make Meringue Candy pops by piping different shapes on a stick. These can be used as cake decorations or consumed as candy sticks.
- Add nuts to meringue or chocolate chips or both to make chocolate nut meringue bars.
- Make Lemon bars and top with a toasted meringue layer to make Lemon meringue pie bars.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Why are my Meringue kisses Sticky?
Meringues will turn out to be sticky if they have not baked completely. To correct underbaked meringues, simply bake them a little longer. Another reason for sticky meringues is removing them from the oven immediately after they have baked. It is advisable to let the baked meringues stay in the oven even after they have finished baking for at least one or two hours.
Also, due to the hygroscopic nature of sugar in meringues, poorly stored meringues will absorb moisture from the air and will get sticky.
Why did my Meringue kiss brown?
High baking temperature is the primary reason for a browned Meringue. Meringues are made of primarily egg whites and sugar therefore they cannot stand high temperatures during baking. The ideal baking temperature for, meringues is 105-115C, and they are usually baked for around 50-60 minutes.
Can I make Meringues without Cream of Tartar?
Yes. The aim of using a Cream of tartar is to help quicken the foaming process of egg whites and to stabilize the egg whites during heating. A good alternative to cream of tartar would be fresh lemon juice or White Vinegar.
Why is my meringue runny?
The success of a well-baked meringue is highly dependent on the stability of the meringue mixture during baking. A runny meringue could be due to the following reasons.
- Use of plastic bowls. Plastic bowls have high chances of retained fat, which inhibits the protein structure of egg whites thus, making the meringue runny.Instead use stainless steel or glass bowls.
- Not using cream of tartar, or lemon or white vinegar which help in stabilizing a meringue mixture.
- Use of old eggs. The best way to identify fresh eggs is by observing the egg white. Runny, almost watery egg whites indicate old eggs while fresh eggs have thicker egg whites.
- Poor egg white and yolk separation. Note that the tiniest trace of egg yolk will adversely inhibit good foaming of the egg whites. Always separate the eggs in two separate bowls before pouring the whites into the mixing bowl. Pour the egg whites into one bowl and the yolks into a different bowl. An egg separator will help immensily.
- Too much salt.
- Overwhipping. Stop whipping the Meringue immediately when stiff peaks are achieved.
MERINGUE KISSES RECIPE
Ingredients
- 70 g Egg whites
- 140 g Castor Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Procedure.
- Preheat the oven to 105 C and line the baking trays with parchment paper and set them aside.
- Pour the egg whites into a stainless steel/ glass bowl plus the cream of tartar and whip using a hand mixer or in a stand mixer gradually adding in the castor sugar.
- Whip until its smooth and glossy with stiff peaks.
- Add in the vanilla extract and pinch of salt, then whip more just until incorporated. Be careful not to overwhip.
- Bake at 105-110C for one hour. Do not open the oven after they are done. Instead leave the meringues in the oven for 1-2 hrs to cool and dry completely.
- Serve immediately or store in a sealed container.
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