Rachel's meringues

My daughter Rachel needed to take a treat to a friend.  She made some meringues.  Aren't they pretty?

 She whipped the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar to stiff-but-still-shiny peaks, after adding some raspberry extract and some pink food coloring. 

She piped the meringue cookies onto a Silpat (or you can pipe onto parchment paper if you wish).  I piped a few pavlovas as well.  We like the Cushion-Aire baking sheets to bake our meringues on.  She put them into the oven for 1 1/2 hours and...

Voila!  Instant cookies or bases for personal pavlovas.

I adapted this recipe from I-can't remember-where when I had to cater an event for 90 people quite a few years ago.  I used the meringue (without the raspberry extract and coloring) as the base for pavlovas.  I topped the personal meringues with lemon curd mousse, a chilled compote sauce of berries with a dollop of whipped cream with a few fresh berries sprinkled on top.  It's a great make-ahead desert for a crowd; elegant and beautiful and your guests will love it.

Use your imagination to fill the pavlovas...or go here to see what I put in mine a few months ago.

I think I'll fill these with some chocolate mousse and top them with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.  What will you put in yours?

Meringue Cookies

6 egg whites, slightly beaten

Pinch of cream of tartar (about 1/8 teaspoon)

1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 250° degrees Fahrenheit. Whip the egg whites on high speed until foamy (add a small amount of food color and extract at this time if you are using it).  Add the cream of tartar and mix well.  Add the sugar, 1 Tab. at a time (if you add the sugar to quickly, the weight of it will deflate your meringue).  Once the sugar is incorporated, continue to whip until the egg whites are shiny and hold a very stiff but still shiny peak.

Place the meringue in a pastry bag and pipe small meringue cookies or pavlova circles.  I usually just "eye" them but you can draw the circles upside down on parchment paper using a cup or stencil and then turn it over and pipe for greater accuracy (don't pipe on the side that you drew on).  Bake for 1-2 hours until the meringues are dry and crisp.  *Do not let them brown.  If they start to brown before the are dry, lay some aluminum foil lightly over the top.  Turn the heat off and let them cool in the oven with the oven door slightly ajar.