Strawberry Meringues

Okay, so remember that I used all those egg yolks to make homemade mayonnaise for this months Secret Recipe Club? And remember I told you I made strawberry meringue cookies with the leftover whites?  Well here they are!

These are actually pretty easy to make, but you need to plan ahead a little bit.

Because in order to get that delicious strawberry flavor, you need a couple of tablespoons of the juice that results from macerating strawberries.  Basically, cut up some strawberries, sprinkle them with some sugar, then let them rest for a few hours.  The result?

Deliciously sweet strawberries (perfect for strawberry shortcakes or ice cream topping or just digging in with a spoon!) and that juice you see there.  Just add that juice to your whipped egg whites and there you have it - naturally flavored meringue!

And those egg whites? Beat them really, really well. You want stiff peaks here. Stiff enough that you can hold them upside down.

Then just pipe out the meringue and bake it in a very low oven for a very long time.

Yummy, crispy, naturally sweet meringue cookies.

But beware.  They are extremely addictive. We finished the whole batch in about 24 hours.  Yum.



Strawberry Meringue Cookies
(from Everything in the Kitchen Sink)

3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons syrup from macerated strawberries, at least 24 hours macerating
1/3 cup of confectioners sugar
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 200 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper (I used foil).  Separate the whites from the yolks (save the yolks for a curd!) and begin beating with a hand mixer until the egg whites are just foamy.
Add in the cream of tartar, the vanilla extract, and strawberry syrup.  Begin to beat until the volume doubles.
Begin to add in the confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Continue beating until there are soft peaks formed in the egg whites.
Add a pinch of salt and finish beating until stiff peaks are formed.  You should be able to hold it above your head!
Pour into a pastry bag or large freezer ziptop bag and squeeze out as much of the air as you can.  Pipe out silver dollar sized cookies onto the parchment-lined cookie sheets.
Bake at 200 F for 2 hours.  I left mine in for closer to three because I... umm... forgot about them for a little bit...  Turn off the oven and let sit for at least an hour before removing.

Enjoy!