If you’ve never made meringues before, you probably know that they can be frustrating. For something so simple, a lot can go wrong.
I’ve added a bunch of notes in the recipe so you don’t make the mistakes that I made.
My 3 year old went crazy for these. In one of my earlier batches, I added too much nutmeg and she still loved them. I had to pry them away from her, haha. And during the photoshoot, my littlest was pulling up on the table and even my tripod trying to grab one.
She isn’t usually that curious about what I’m doing with the camera and food in the living room, I don’t know what was so exciting about these!
They do smell so good though. I can’t be the only one that loves nutmeg so much. I love a pinch of it with a tiny drizzle of maple syrup in some warm unsweetened almond milk and these kind of remind me of that.
Next time I would have tried to pipe them a little higher. I was just too excited that they were finally stiff enough to pipe properly that I didn’t even think to make them a little taller.
Speaking of piping… If you’re like me and don’t have any piping bags, a Ziploc bag with a piping tip or just the corner cut off will work wonderfully. And how my grandmother used to do it was with a square of parchment or wax paper, but maybe I’ll share that trick another time if you’re interested 🙂
So, we finally got a good amount of snow here! You’d think, living in Canada we’d get lots of snow every year but we haven’t gotten much in the last few years and didn’t have any just last week. I’m so excited to have a decent amount of snow (that isn’t going to melt in the next few days). It will be sledding time this weekend! Sledding and then coming in for hot chocolate and cookies is like the best thing ever! I’m still just a kid at heart 😀
See you tomorrow with some more cookies!
Eggnog Meringues
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites room temperature
- 1/2 C granulated sugar processed for a few seconds in a food processor
- large pinch of salt
- large pinch of cream of tartar
- the seeds of 1 vanilla bean
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg very lightly packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Arrange the oven rack to be in the bottom 3rd of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Carefully separate the eggs so that no yolks are in the whites. Place the egg whites in a clean glass or stainless bowl. Add the salt and cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar, 1-2 tbsp at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition to make sure the sugar dissolves.
- Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Test that the sugar is all dissolved by rubbing a small amount between your fingers. It should be completely smooth.
- Once the egg whites have been beaten to stiff peaks and is smooth and glossy, add the seeds of the vanilla bean and the grated nutmeg. Beat well to incorporate then place the mixture in a prepared piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off.
- On the prepared baking sheet pipe 1"-1.5" diameter cookies.
- Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour 10-15 minutes or until dry. Turn off the oven and let the meringues cool and continue to dry until the oven completely cools down, or overnight.
Notes
- If you don't have time to let your egg whites come to room temperature place your bowl with the egg whites over a small pot of simmering water(making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water) and stir while gently warming the egg whites, just until barely warm to the touch.
- Don't add your addins until the egg whites have been beaten enough, the natural oils in whatever your adding can interfere with the egg whites and stop them from forming stiff peaks.
- If the meringues begin to turn golden on the bottom or the top, turn the oven down 25 degrees and just bake slightly longer.
I gotta share the outtake for this photo shoot… Pudgy little (blurry) baby fingers! Sorry baby girl, no eggnog meringues yet! 🙂
Comments & Reviews
Sam says
If you put a bit of vinegar on a paper towel and use that to wipe over your bowl and beaters, it will remove any leftover oils that might stop the egg whites beating up properly.
Not sure where I got that tip from, but since I started doing it, I’ve never had a batch flop on me. 🙂
I’ve just stumbled onto your blog, and I’m loving it!
Eat Good 4 Life says
Wow these meringues look awesome. I have not made meringues in for ever. Eggnog is so indicative of the holidays….maybe I should bake something with it as well 🙂
Ari @ Ari's Menu says
These have got to be the most beautiful cookie I’ve ever seen!! Can it be cookie week all the time?? These recipes have been ridiculous!