Lately, I've developed a fascination with separating eggs. Is that weird? It's such a delicate act, and so important to get right if you're going to be whipping up the egg whites into a meringue. Say, for a souffle (which I've been practicing but haven't gotten quite right), or for meringue cookies. Mmmm.
After a lot of searching, I finally found a meringue cookie recipe that only called for a minimal amount of ingredients. Two, to be exact. Egg whites and powdered sugar. Here's the original recipe, but I'm including my slightly modified directions here, too.
Start with two eggs at room temperature. Separate the yolks from the whites. Toss the yolks (or save them for something else). Aren't empty egg shells pretty?
Measure out one cup of powdered sugar. In the right bowl are the 2 egg whites.
Whip the egg whites on a medium speed until foamy. This should only take a few minutes.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time, while continuing to mix on a medium speed.
Continue whipping until the mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form. For me, this took about 10 minutes. The mixture should stay put if you hold the mixing bowl upside down.
Preheat your oven to 200° F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue (or use a plastic baggie with a corner snipped off, like I did).
The fun part! Pipe the meringue onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
The meringue makes about 2 dozen cookies. (That's about 20 calories per cookie – not so bad.)
My makeshift pastry bag got verrrry sticky and messy. For the last couple, I used a spoon instead.
After baking at 200° F for 90 minutes, the cookies came out a pale peachy color, crisp on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside.
I'm not sure why they pulled apart along the bottom and got kinda sugary-bubbly. But I kind of like them that way, imperfectly perfect.
So yummy. But I'm also itching to experiment with flavors. Just imagine: coffee meringue cookies! Raspberry meringue cookies! Hazelnut meringue cookies!
Again, all you need is two ingredients: 2 egg whites and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Whip, pipe, and bake, and you'll have about two dozen delicious bite-sized snacks.
very nice photos! those look delicious :)
Posted by: beckie | March 08, 2011 at 03:40 PM
these look so gorgeous. and i like the broken middle section too. i think it adds a bit of style to the overall look.
Posted by: linda | March 08, 2011 at 05:54 PM
ah! too pretty! you are on a roll :)
Posted by: val | March 08, 2011 at 05:59 PM
They're so pretty! You're quite talented - isn't it hard to get the shape right?
Posted by: Michelle | gold-hearted girl | March 08, 2011 at 06:04 PM
yum and so pretty!
Posted by: suann | simplesong | March 08, 2011 at 06:24 PM
michelle - aw, thank you! it was actually surprisingly easy to make the shape. just squeeze out a dollop of the meringue, then swirl it around a little to get the curl on top.
Posted by: rachel | March 08, 2011 at 06:56 PM
Elephantine is turning into a food blog, and I LOVE it! OMG, you too! I don't know why, but separating eggs is so addictive. I've been making chocolate and coconut pudding(with separated egg yolks) just about every other day this week. I can't get enough!
Posted by: hannah | March 08, 2011 at 07:05 PM
They are so precious! I think meringues are the yummiest, and you're right, so low in calories for a cookie. I'm inspired to try them myself now.
Posted by: southern hostess | March 08, 2011 at 07:28 PM
Rachel, these photos are gorgeous! You did such a beautiful job documenting this process. I need to do more like this -- really, as a food blogger, I have no excuses (except my desire to finish the food so I can eat it).
Posted by: Brandi {not your average ordinary} | March 08, 2011 at 07:36 PM
oh thank the heavens for you! i've rather half-heartedly looked for meringue cookies, but i'm always uncertain of how long to beat them for. you spell it all out so simply (and beautifully, at that). merci beaucoup!
Posted by: janis | March 08, 2011 at 08:05 PM
Your recipe presentation is so beautiful!
Posted by: taylor | March 08, 2011 at 08:06 PM
I love the egg photo the best! Very nice Rachel.
Posted by: Amber | March 08, 2011 at 08:12 PM
Holy crap. Can I pay you to come teach me your tricks? Succinctly, these look amazing. I've always loved meringue.
Posted by: Kayla @ Exquisite Banana | March 08, 2011 at 08:19 PM
those look delish. they kind of remind me of the boogieman from "the nightmare before christmas", but i'm sure he didn't taste as great.
Posted by: Donaville | March 08, 2011 at 08:53 PM
2 ingredients? Looks de-lish! I love the little bubbles at the bottom. Pretty and honey coloured. Maybe you could use those extra egg yolks in this delicious crepe recipe (my favourite when I want to make a dinner and treat myself!)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vanilla-Crepes/Detail.aspx
Posted by: Marisa | March 08, 2011 at 09:21 PM
They remind me of Smurf hats! Love meringues, here in Sweden we eat them crumbled on top of ice cream with chocolate sauce and sliced bananas. Mmmm...
Posted by: Vanessa | March 09, 2011 at 02:07 AM
i'd add a little cornstarch, like, two teaspoonsful to it, and a touch of balsamic vinegar *if and only if* you want them not to crack as much :)
i love how they turned out! imperfectly perfect is just nice.
Posted by: ashvina | March 09, 2011 at 07:09 AM
Mmmm those look wonderful! I love that they cracked. The imperfection is pretty! Your photos are great! I love the simplicity and focus. :) I'm hungry!
Posted by: Claggie | March 09, 2011 at 08:22 AM
these look so yummy...i think they look yummier because of their cracks (that sounds funny)! :)
Posted by: Karin | March 09, 2011 at 09:01 AM
Mmm, meringue! These look beautiful, and my mouth is watering at the thought of raspberry meringues!
Posted by: Lena | March 09, 2011 at 10:50 AM
these look great! can't wait to give them a try.
Posted by: elissa, ebb & flow | March 09, 2011 at 12:02 PM
hi rachel! I'm really enjoying your food posts....keep them coming! also, the photography is superb.
Posted by: monica | March 09, 2011 at 12:05 PM
you make it look way too easy!
Posted by: Gloria | March 09, 2011 at 12:12 PM
first of all, these photos are stellar.
secondly, i totally understand the fascination with separating eggs. i've been cooking with them a lot lately, and i too am so entranced!
xo Alison
Posted by: and flowers pick themselves | March 09, 2011 at 05:49 PM
that looks absolutely amazing -- i love easy recipes! if i can't make these perfect meringue cookies, then something is seriously wrong with me. gonna give it a try for sure :)
Posted by: Justine @ Urban Scarlet | March 09, 2011 at 09:20 PM
I love your blog, it is my favorite!!! keep going with the posts. I love the food posts!
Posted by: Michelle | March 09, 2011 at 11:14 PM
The photos are so beautiful!
How you took pictures and did that at the same time, well I applaud you! (I would have had meringue all over the camera!).
Cheers!! xoxo
Posted by: Pistachio | March 10, 2011 at 05:49 AM
These are so cute! Thanks for sharing...I'll definitely be trying to make these soon :)
Posted by: Cassandra Marie | March 10, 2011 at 08:13 AM
I love meringues! For Easter, I always make mini pavlova nests to fill with berries or chocolate eggs. Yum!
Posted by: Johanna | March 10, 2011 at 09:15 AM
I love your step by step photos! Beautiful. I've had this bookmarked and can't wait to try this weekend.
Posted by: alli/hooray | March 10, 2011 at 04:32 PM
Gorgeous post! Wow! I love the separation that occurred. Spectacular! Thank you for sharing. I am inspired to make some...
Posted by: Maile | March 12, 2011 at 09:29 AM
these look amazing!!! love it! yum!
Posted by: Joke | March 12, 2011 at 10:20 AM
I feel like creating a little rake tray with ground almonds at the base, rose petals boats with water droplets nested in them floating around, and these crackly meringue drops as islands.
Posted by: ashvina | March 12, 2011 at 08:07 PM
I'm adding this to my to-do list! They look divine!
Posted by: Jessica | March 19, 2011 at 08:04 PM
Oh goood lord these look soooooo yummy!!!!!!
thea.
xx
(spoonfulzine)
Posted by: theaxx | March 26, 2011 at 01:23 AM
Eating sweet foods would be my mortal sin this week. I'm not allowed to eat sweets and even solid foods, because my wisdom tooth was extracted last Saturday by my dentist at Myrtle Beach. Well, I'mjust gonna save this link so I can cook this in the future.
Posted by: George Quirk | March 28, 2011 at 04:32 AM
My mom used to make chocolate chip meringue cookies when I was a little girl, they were always my favorite, I'm going to have to make a batch now! Thanks for the reminder!
Posted by: Maree | January 20, 2012 at 11:33 AM