Meringue Trees With Snow Recipes

SNOW-PUFFED MERINGUES

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 225°. Add vanilla and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold in confectioners' sugar., Place meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a #1M open star tip. Pipe 1-1/2-in. rosettes onto parchment-lined baking sheets., Bake until firm to the touch, 45-50 minutes. Turn off oven (do not open oven door); leave meringues in oven 1-1/2 hours. Remove from oven; cool completely on baking sheets., Remove meringues from parchment. Pipe or spread Nutella onto bottoms of half the cookies; cover with remaining cookies. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.

MERINGUE TREES WITH SNOW

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat together the egg whites and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. While beating, add the confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
• While the mixer is still running, add the green food coloring and mix until combined. Put the meringue into a disposable piping bag fitted with a large star piping tip. Holding the bag at a 90-degree angle to the baking sheet, pipe a large star and then two smaller stars on top to create a tree; repeat until all the meringue is gone.
• Bake until the meringues are no longer glossy and feel light and dry when picked up, about 1 hour.
• Open the oven for a few minutes, then turn it off and shut the door. Leave the meringues in the oven until they are completely dry inside, about 2 hours.
• Once the meringues have cooled, dust the tops with confectioners' sugar to resemble snow.
• Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

FESTIVE MERINGUE CHRISTMAS TREES

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 200°. Add vanilla, cream of tartar and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form, about 7 minutes. Tint with green food coloring and mix thoroughly., Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag; insert a large #828 open star tip. Transfer meringue to bag. Pipe 2-in.-diameter tree shapes 2 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets; top with sprinkles and a star nonpareil. , Bake until firm to the touch, about 3 hours. Turn off oven and open door all the way; leave meringues in oven until cool. Remove meringues from parchment. If desired, sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

MERINGUE SNOWMEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites and salt, slowly adding 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Continue to whisk until mixture is stiff. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in remaining granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar.
• Transfer meringue to a large pastry bag fitted with a 3/4-inch round tip. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, pipe a 3-inch mound of meringue to form a snowman's body. To form the arms, pipe meringue on top of the body in the shape of sideways C (with the curve at the snowman's back). For the head, pipe a 1 1/2-inch mound of meringue on top of the center of the body, inside the curve of the arms. Repeat to form seven more snowmen. Sprinkle snowmen with pearl sugar.
• In a small bowl, combine remaining meringue and a few drops of red food coloring. Transfer to a parchment cone or a small pastry bag fitted with a #2 tip, and pipe a red nose onto each snowman.
• Bake snowmen until the outside is set but the inside is still soft, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool. When cool, pick up the snowmen one by one, and scoop out the insides of the body with a spoon; discard. Return hollow snowmen to oven, and bake until firm, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Watch the snowmen to be sure they remain white; once they are firm (or if they begin to color), remove them from the oven, and set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, roll 7 ounces of almond paste to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Using a 3/4-inch-diameter cutter, cut out 8 circles for hats. With a toothpick, pick up each circle, and dip it into melted chocolate. Transfer circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Swirl them slightly as they hit the parchment, spreading the dripping chocolate around to form a brim for each hat. Repeat with remaining hats, and let cool completely. Reserve 1/4 cup of the melted chocolate for decorating.
• In a large bowl, make mousse filling by combining remaining chocolate and heavy cream. Transfer chocolate mousse to a large pastry bag fitted with a 3/4-inch round tip. Pick up the cooled snowmen, and fill the bodies with mousse. Carefully replace filled snowmen onto parchment.
• Add a few drops of red food coloring to remaining 4 ounces of almond paste; knead until completely combined. Roll to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into eight 8-by-1/2-inch strips to form scarves.
• Place scarves around snowmen's necks, and top heads with cooled hats. Transfer reserved chocolate to a small parchment cone or pastry bag fitted with a #1 tip; pipe eyes, mouths, and buttons on each snowman. Serve immediately.

MERINGUE TREES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
• Place 3 egg whites and granulated sugar in a mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water and heat, whisking occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form and bottom of bowl is cool to the touch, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in 1 teaspoon cornstarch and vinegar, then gel paste. Transfer meringue to a large pastry bag (with no tip).
• Add remaining 3 egg whites and brown sugar to clean mixer bowl set over pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to mixer and beat on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form and bottom of bowl is cool to the touch, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch and transfer to another large pastry bag (with no tip).
• Fit a third pastry bag with a large open-star tip (such as Ateco #829). Lay bag on its side; pipe white-sugar meringue to fill one side, then brown-sugar meringue to fill other side. Pipe small dots of combined meringue in corners of prepared baking sheets to secure parchment. Holding pastry bag at a 90-degree angle about 1/2 inch above parchment, pipe base layer of each tree, about 2 inches in diameter, in a swirling fashion. Lift bag straight up, yielding a "kiss" shape. Pipe a smaller layer on top, followed by an even smaller top layer to complete the tree. Be careful to hold the piping bag completely vertical as you work so that the trees don?t lean or fall over.
• Transfer sheets to oven and reduce heat to 200 degrees. Bake until meringues feel firm but still pliable and are not taking on any color, about 2 hours. Let cool completely on baking sheets on wire racks. Trees can be stored in a single layer (without touching) in an airtight container up to 1 week.

CHRISTMAS TREE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 120C/100C fan/gas ½. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and fit a large piping bag with a star nozzle. Put the egg whites in a clean bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk to soft peaks using electric beaters, about a minute or two. Add the sugar while whisking, a spoonful at a time, whisking well between each addition, until all of the sugar has been added and you have a thick, glossy meringue. Whisk in the cornflour and vinegar, then enough of the green food colouring to create a light green colour.
• Spoon the meringue into the piping bag. Start by piping the circular base, then spiral up so you have a Christmas tree shape. Put an edible star on top, if using, and sprinkle with hundreds and thousands. Repeat until you have 12 trees. Put the trees in the oven for 1 hr until crisp to the touch. Turn off the heat and leave in the oven for 1 hr to cool gradually.