Meringue Mice Recipes

MERINGUE MICE

Steps:

• Position 2 racks in the oven, and preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. Fill a medium saucepan 1/4 full with water. Set the saucepan over medium heat, and bring water to a simmer.
• Combine the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer, and place it over the simmering water. Whisk constantly until whites are warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers.
• Transfer bowl to mixer stand; fit mixer with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high, beat egg-white mixture until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.
• Fit a pastry bag with a #803 Ateco tip, and fill it with the meringue. Pipe teardrop mice shapes onto prepared baking sheets by piping small blobs about 1 inch in diameter, with one pointed end (for the face). Pipe mice about 2 1/2 inches apart. Complete each mouse by inserting a 3-inch-long piece of licorice for the tail, small black candies for eyes and nose, and 2 almond slices for ears.
• Bake until mice are hard when gently tapped but still white, about 1 1/2 hours. Do not overbake, or they will crack and begin to brown. Transfer to cooling racks until room temperature. Store at room temperature in airtight containers up to 1 week.

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.

MERINGUE MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
• In a large glass or metal bowl, use an electric mixer to whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla. Continue whipping until the whites hold soft peaks. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar so that it does not sink to the bottom, and continue whipping until the mixture holds stiff shiny peaks.
• Place a round tip into a pastry bag, and fill the bag half way with the meringue. To pipe the mushroom caps, squeeze out round mounds of meringue onto one of the prepared cookie sheets. Pull the bag off to the side to avoid making peaks on the top. For the stems, press out a tiny bit of meringue onto the other sheet, then pull the bag straight up. They should resemble candy kisses. Do not worry about making all of the pieces exactly the same. The mushrooms will look more natural if the pieces are different sizes. Dust the mushroom caps lightly with cocoa using a small sifter or strainer.
• Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the caps are dry enough to easily remove from the cookie sheets. Set aside to cool completely. Melt the coating chocolate in a metal bowl over simmering water, or in a glass bowl in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
• Poke a small hole in the bottom of a mushroom cap. Spread chocolate over the bottom of the cap. Dip the tip of a stem in chocolate, and press lightly into the hole. When the chocolate sets, they will hold together. Repeat with remaining pieces. Store at room temperature in a dry place or tin.

MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer); beat on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium high; beat in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, then add the extract or zest. Continue beating until the meringue is thick, glossy and holds stiff peaks, about 6 minutes.
• For colored cookies, swirl a few drops of food coloring into the meringue or use a small paintbrush to paint 3 long stripes of food coloring up the inside of a pastry bag. For chocolate chip versions, gently fold the mini chocolate chips into the mixture.
• Drop or pipe the meringue as desired, about 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake 1 hour, then turn off the oven and let the meringues stand in the oven until dry, about 2 hours. Top with or dip in melted chocolate and sprinkle with nonpareils.

VANILLA MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar. Beat until the mixture is frothy and soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting about 15 seconds between each addition. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat for an additional 5 minutes. The egg whites should be glossy and stiff but not dry.
• Spoon the mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 2-inch cookies onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between each cookie.
• Bake for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the cookies in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

MERINGUE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until soft peaks form. Add vanilla, and slowly beat in sugar until very stiff and glossy. Spread mixture into a 9 inch pie plate to form a shell.
• Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 50 minutes. Turn oven off, and leave meringue in oven for 1 hour. Cool.

FOOLPROOF MERINGUE

Steps:

• In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, combine egg whites, vanilla and lemon extract. Beat until foamy. Gradually add white sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, covering completely.
• To bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Bake pie in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

SUGAR MICE

Steps:

• Put the egg white in a large bowl and whisk until foamy. Stir in the lemon juice.
• Gradually stir in the icing sugar with a wooden spoon until really stiff, like dough. Or, dust the work surface with some icing sugar and knead the sugar into the mixture until you get the right consistency.
• Divide the mixture in half. Add a dot of pink food colouring to one half, then knead in to evenly distribute the colour. Add a tiny bit more colouring if you want a stronger colour. Leave the second half plain.
• Break off a walnut-sized piece of the mixture and roll into a rounded cone shape, then flatten one side so that the mouse can sit on a flat surface without toppling over. Pinch out little ears on top of the narrow end, then squeeze the same end into a nose. Press chocolate sprinkles into the face below the ears to make eyes. Cut a length of kitchen string about 4cm long, and push it into the round end of the mouse to make a tail.
• Use a cocktail stick to dab a tiny amount of pink food colouring onto the nose, then put the mouse on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
• Repeat the process with the remaining pink and white mixtures, then leave the mice to dry out for at least 12 hrs.

LEMON MERINGUE MINCE PIES

Steps:

• If making your own pastry, tip the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest and milk, then mix into a dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until the pastry comes together, being careful not to over-mix. Form into a disc, cover and chill for at least 10 mins or up to two days. Will keep frozen for three months. Defrost before using. While the pastry chills, mix together the mincemeat and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and lightly butter the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin. Roll the pastry out to the thickness of a £1 coin and use a 10cm round cutter to stamp out 12 circles, re-rolling the offcuts if needed. Use these to line the holes of the tin, pressing them into the base using a small ball of excess pastry. Spoon in the mincemeat, leaving a little gap at the top, and bake for 15 mins until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little, but keep the oven on. The pies will keep covered at room temperature for up to a day.
• For the meringue, tip the egg whites into a clean bowl with the lemon juice and a small pinch of salt. Beat with an electric whisk to soft peaks, then sprinkle over half the sugar and continue to whisk until you have soft peaks again. Add the remaining sugar and whisk until the meringue is glossy and stiff. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, then pipe swirls of meringue on top of each pie. Slide the pies back into the hot oven for 10 mins to brown the meringue. (You could also do this using a kitchen blowtorch, if you have one.) Serve warm. Once completely cool, will keep in an airtight container for up to a day.