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Pink Meringue Kiss Cookies

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Pink Meringue Kisses ~ Light and almost ethereal these meringue kisses have been slightly tinted pink for a Valentine’s dessert touch.

Pink Meringue Kiss Cookies

I also made one with chocolate as a variation, but left the rest plain since that’s how Matt likes them. As for me, I have to admit, I’m not a meringue fan. I love the way they look and I love to make them, but I don’t like the texture.

This is a useful and easy 4-ingredient recipe to have on hand, especially when you have egg whites that need to be used-and I had some leftover from my Caramel Pot de Crème recipe. Although, those exact ones were not used in the merignues you see in the picture.

In fact those eggs whites went in the trash along with the first round of finished meringues. See, meringues are touchy little things. The slightest moisture will zap out all crispness and turn your meringue cookies into a sticky mess.

I actually made this recipe on Tuesday night and had intended on shooting them early Thursday morning before work, that is, until I got home from my 9-to-5iver and realized I had a sticky mess.

While I had left the meringues in an airtight container, Matt had unknowingly moved that container next to a window with full afternoon sun. That was all the meringues needed to come undone. The container had turned in to a little hot box and had morphed the crisp little puffy pink bites into a sticky mess.

Let me say it has been the kind of week that by midday Tuesday, I wanted to hit the fast forward button. I had a sick little guy, two bake failures, a melted silicone bake form-even though the tag said oven safe(and yes, I’m sure the fumes released when it melted was completely non-toxic, right?) after all that, I had sticky meringues that made me want to cry.

Really, sticky meringues- tears? Yeah, I know, utter silliness . . . like I said, fast forward please.

Alright, the pity party has officially ended moving on . . . Anyone ready for the pretty meringues that did turn out crisp and light!

A few notes:

  • Make sure not to make these on a humid day, as they tend to leech on to any moisture and will not set up properly or stay crisp.
  • There are many variations to making this, but I find the best way is to bake them at 175 degrees F for one and half hours and then turn off the oven leave the oven door ajar and go to bed. Yes, go to bed and let the meringues cool down with the oven or at least for 4 hours in the oven, again, with the door slightly ajar. Once cooled, immediately move them to an airtight container. Keep the container away from any heat or moisture.
  • For the pink coloring, I used Ateco’s Hot Pink. I dipped a popsicle stick a half inch deep in the bottle and then dipped that in the meringue and folded in the color.
  • Meringues properly stored can last up to one week at room temperature. Alternatively, store them in the freezer where they can be enjoyed straight from the freezer without any defrosting.

Meringue Kisses

Preparation: Line to bake sheets with parchment and heat oven to 175 degrees F

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs whites
  • 1 cup sugar
  • Pinch of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions:

1.  Place sugar, egg whites and tartar in a bowl over (not on) simmering water. Constantly whisk the egg whites until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Pour the egg mixture into a clean bowl. Using a whisk attachment on a stand mixer or a hand held mixture, slowly beat egg mixture. Gradually increase speed and continue to beat mixture until stiff peaks have almost formed. Mixture is ready when whisk attachment dipped into mixture leaves a curled but stiff peak when removed.

3. Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a close or open star tip and pipe ½ inch to ¾ inch wide cookies, making sure to set them one inch apart from one another.  Bake at 175 degrees F for 1 ½ hours, then turn off oven and leave the door slightly ajar for meringues to cool down with the oven.  Store meringue cookies in an airtight container away from any heat or moisture. Alternatively, store them in the freezer where they can be enjoyed straight from the freezer without any defrosting.

Comments

  1. Peta says

    they look great. I put mine in the freezer in an airtight container. they stay crisp and you can eat them straight away.
    Back in my professional cheffing days that’s what we did and I still do it. My macarons keep beautifully too, filled with italian meringue butter cream and unfilled.
    Love your blog

  2. Erin Blodgett says

    beautiful picture as usual. And tears? Oh honey! I understand, I think it must be in the week, since I had a similar moment with my hubby too, except insert cake balls instead of meringues.

  10. Wenderly says

    Simply lovely! Sorry that you had a less than desirable week! Hopefully *these* darling meringues put a big smile on your face like they did mine! 🙂

  11. Rosie @ Sweetapolita says

    Naomi, these are so beautiful and classic. I adore them! I’m a huge meringue fan, in both looks and taste. Your photo is, as always, so lovely and stunning. So sorry about your week–I hope things are back to normal, and that your little guy is all better too! xo

  12. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says

    Beautiful styling, I love the contrast of the baby blue with the soft pink of the cookies, and of course the meringues themselves are perfect! The filled meringue on it’s side is a nice detail as well. So sorry to hear about the rough week, hope everything is back on track now.

  14. Claudie says

    Those meringue kisses look absolutely perfect! wow! And of course, I agree with the other comments — the way you took this photo is just as perfect!

  15. Naomi says

    Hey Chocolate Shavings,

    Thanks for asking, I forgot to include that (it’s in the notes portion now). I used Ateco’s Hot Pink and actually dipped a popsicle stick in the food coloring about a 1/2inch deep and then dipped that in the meringues and folded the color in.

  16. Kim says

    Hey Naomi! So sorry about your “failed attempts” this week. Sometimes, [email protected]#$ just happens. Glad it worked out better in the end, the week is over, and you can start over with Monday. 🙂

    [K]

  19. Cristina says

    I’m so sorry about the outcome of your meringues in the sun. They turned out so beautiful – your image/styling of these lovely, soft pink meringues against the light blue background is just publication worthy. 🙂

  23. Cookbook Queen says

    GORGEOUS, Naomi!!

    LOVE your photo, so pretty and well laid out.

    I have never made meringues, always wanted to try. Thanks so much for the tips…if I messed mine up I would probably cry 🙁

  26. Xiaolu says

    Not silly at all! I had a similar breakdown with my sesame matcha cupcakes that never solidified because I added twice the liquid! Glad all turned out well. Better than well, these are gorgeous, delicate, and certainly delicious!

  27. ButterYum says

    Oh no…. what a week you had. You’d never know it by looking at this fabulous pic… lovely meringues. I find they are best baked and eaten on the same day – too hygroscopic to chance them any longer than that.

    Happy Baking
    🙂
    ButterYum

  28. Tickled Red says

    Those are absolutely perfect!! I love playing around with meringue so I can’t wait to try making these.I hope that mine end up looking as good as yours 🙂

  31. Melody says

    Love to make these but how did you do the one with the chocolate filling??? Our family loves chocolate and I often make what we call “Bake While You Sleep Cookies” and add mini chocolate chips to the recipe but I love the look of your filled one.

  32. Mar says

    You can just make a regular ganache but for a little stiffer on to set, use it 1:2 cream to chocolate ratio

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