Aunt Chicks Egg Meringue Recipes

BASIC MERINGUE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
• Beat egg whites in medium bowl with electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time, until sugar is dissolved and stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Spread over hot pie filling in decorative swirls.
• Bake pie in preheated 425°F (220°C) oven until tips of meringue are golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Makes topping for a 9-inch (23 cm) pie.

AUNT JIMMY'S BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Make the Filling: In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Immediately remove from the heat and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, until caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes. (You'll smell a characteristic nutty caramel odor when the butter browns, signaling that the mixture is ready.)
• Whisking constantly, gradually add the butter/brown sugar mixture to the hot milk/cream mixture. If the mixture isn't smooth, blend for 20 seconds with a hand blender or pour through a fine sieve.
• Put the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture. Whisk in the cornstarch and salt until dissolved. Whisk the cornstarch mixture back into the hot milk mixture in the saucepan. Whisk in the Scotch.
• While whisking constantly, cook over medium-high heat until thick and just boiling. When the mixture thickens, the whisk will leave trail marks on the bottom of the pot and the mixture will have a few large bubbles boiling up to the top.
• Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour into the prebaked pie shell and set aside while you make the meringue.
• Make the Meringue: In a standing mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip the whites in a clean dry bowl on low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whipping on medium speed until soft peaks are formed. Gradually pour in the sugar and continue whipping on high speed until stiff and glossy. Pile the meringue onto the pie and swirl to cover, spreading it to the edge. (Making sure it touches the edge.) Bake the pie until the meringue is lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Chill the pie, uncovered, at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.

MERINGUE EGGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Using a 1 1/2-by-2-inch oval-shaped cutter, trace 12 oval shapes on each of two sheets of parchment paper with a pencil. Transfer parchment paper, pencil side down, to two baking sheets; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites and salt together until glossy peaks form. With mixer running, add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating until meringue is stiff and glossy. Sprinkle in cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla; mix until meringue is just combined.
• Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round pastry tip. Pipe a dollop of meringue in the center of each oval on parchment paper. Pipe meringue around dollop twice, creating a well to hold filling. Repeat process until all eggs are created.
• Transfer to oven and bake until meringue lifts off parchment paper easily, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. Fill cooled meringue eggs with orange curd; serve.

GOOD MERINGUE

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture forms stiff peaks.

AUNT GRETA'S WALNUT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Whip the egg white with a whip attachment until stiff.
• Add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt and continue whipping until stiff and glossy. Fold in the walnuts.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined sheet pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool and remove from the pan. Store in an airtight container.

AUNT CHICK'S EGG MERINGUE

Steps:

• In a clean bowl, beat the egg white until very frothy. Gradually beat in the sugar. Beat in the salt and vanilla. Continue beating until the mixture forms stiff peaks.

GREAT-AUNT NINA'S NOODLES AND CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place the carrots, onions and celery in the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the whole chicken on top of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the white wine and sprinkle basil over the top. Cover and cook on Low setting for 8 to 10 hours.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, water, salt, shortening and flour to form a stiff dough. After I've mixed in as much flour as possible using a fork, I knead the dough with my hand in the bowl to incorporate as much flour as possible. Let the dough rest for a few minutes.
• Roll the dough out on a well-greased board to 1/8 inch thickness. Use a pizza cutter or pie crust cutter to cut into strips about 1/2 inch wide and 3 inches long. Dust lightly with flour, and leave to dry for a few hours while the chicken cooks.
• When the chicken is done, remove the meat and vegetables to a platter. Transfer the juices to a large pot and stir in 2 quarts of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and add the noodles. Cook for about 10 minutes, until tender. Meanwhile, remove the meat from the chicken and shred. Discard bones and skin. When the noodles are done, return the vegetables to the pot and add shredded chicken meat. Serve.

NETTIE'S CARAMEL PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out to a disk 11 inches in diameter and ease it into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim the edges. Place parchment paper on the dough and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake until the edges of the crust are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and set the crust aside to cool.
• In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup of sugar and the flour, milk and salt and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and is smooth, about 6 minutes. Set aside.
• Place the remaining sugar in a small skillet set over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally with a fork until the sugar melts and turns amber in color. Carefully add 1/2 cup of water. (The mixture will sputter.) Raise the heat to medium, and continue to cook, stirring, until the caramel is dissolved and the mixture is slightly reduced, about 4 minutes.
• Add the caramel to the flour- and-milk mixture. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks together and slowly whisk in the hot caramel mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• When ready to assemble the pie, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir the chilled caramel mixture before pouring it into the baked crust. Spread meringue over the top and bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.

LEMONY EASTER CHICKS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and put a medium-sized plain nozzle on a piping bag.
• In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are very stiff. Add half the sugar and continue to whisk until the mixture is becoming firm and shiny.
• Stir the cornflour into the remaining sugar and add to the meringue, along with the lemon zest and juice, and a smidge of yellow food colouring paste. Whisk again until you have a very thick, firm and glossy pale yellow meringue.
• Carefully spoon the meringue into the piping bag. Push any air out of the top and tightly twist the opening to seal. Pipe about 25 thumb-sized dollops onto your baking sheet - if possible, try to make them wider at the base than the top, resembling a chick's body and head. Leave a gap between each chick to allow for expanding when cooking.
• Cook in the oven for 30 mins until they are crisp, firm and come off the baking parchment easily. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
• To decorate, use the orange icing pen to make a V-shaped beak, and a black icing pen for eyes and feet. The yellow icing pen can be used to decorate fluffy hair on the chick's head and/or wings. Will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container.