I’ve never considered myself a big meringue fan. To me, they tasted nothing more than styrofoam. I soon found out it was due to my under developed pallet of grocery store meringues.
It was about a year ago, when my dearest French friend, Emeline, made me some homemade meringues. I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical as my childhood memories flooded back, but I was obviously going to give them a taste. After the first bite, I was in heaven. A homemade meringue melts in your mouth. The puffy crunchy candy, slowly looses structure and gives you this fantastic sugar rush like never before.
Simply put, I was hooked.
A typical meringue usually uses vanilla extract to flavor, but I’m tired of the norms. I wanted something a little different, so I hunted through my cupboard. Ah ha! Almond extract, perfect.
These meringues are so simple to make, they just take a little time and patience. Plus, it makes a really big batch — great for gifts, or dinner parties.
If you’ve never tasted these treats homemade, I strongly encourage you to whip up a batch. Like, today.
Ingredients
- 2 C. Sugar
- 8 Egg Whites
- 1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Almond Extract
- A few drops of food coloring --- just for fun!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or baking pads.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the baking powder and salt. Continue to whip, adding one tablespoon of sugar at a time. Make sure to give it time to incorporate well before adding another tablespoon of sugar. (This takes about 10 minutes, but is totally necessary)
- Add the almond extract and beat on high until stiff white peaks are formed and the egg whites are nice and glossy.
- (Optional: Add a few drops of food coloring and mix well)
- Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag, or large plastic bag with the corner snipped off, and pipe the meringue onto the baking sheet.
- Bake 1 hour, until firm. Allow to cool on a baking rack until very cool before packaging.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Love these! Definitely going to give ‘em a try!
Great post. Love meringues. Yes to the almond for sure. Never thought of storing them in a large mason jar!
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