meringues

Yes, before you decide that I am crazy, and that this is too hard, I do make meringues every Pesach. They are not that hard, but they do require some time. Best part about them: only two ingredients, gluten-free, dairy-free, fat-free... and you will not have to guess whether they will be eaten.

So here it goes.

Meringues

First of all, make sure that your mixing bowl and the beaters are perfectly clean. If there is any oil, dirt or residue the meringues will not rise. I made them in metal bowl and in plastic bowl and that does not make any difference as long as everything is clean.

Preheat the oven to 250F (yes, 250, not 350). Line two cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper. Alternatively, you can double-up heavy-duty aluminum foil and use that as a cookie sheet.

You will need 4 egg whites, separated from the yolks. Be very careful not to get yolk into the the whites, or the meringues will not rise. You can use eggshells to separate the eggs, or a nifty egg separator, or crack the egg into the cupped hand and let the egg white run down as the yolk stays. Personally, I hate separating eggs, but I will do it for meringues and for chiffon cake for my husband, another Pesach-only dessert.

Once you got your egg whites in the mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt and beat them on low speed until they get frothy, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium. Then measure out 1 cup of granulated sugar and start adding one spoonful at a time, beating the whole time. The whole process could take ten minutes. The meringue is ready when it is glossy, holds peaks, and sticks to the sides of the bowl. Now take two spoons and place individual meringue cookies onto the baking sheets. They do not rise, so you do not need to leave a lot of space between them. If you want to be fancy, many grocery stores will carry a pastry bag. Or you can snip a corner of a ziploc bag and load it up. I am usually too tired to play around like that, so I stick to two spoons and free-form meringues.

Place the baking sheets in the oven and leave them for at least two hours. Then turn the oven off and them them sit inside overnight. You are really drying off the meringues, not baking them. Also, this way once the meringues are in the oven, you are done cooking for the day.

If you are in a hurry, you could raise the temperature and bake them for a shorter time. Then you have to watch the meringues to avoid burning them. Also, they will remain soft and chewy on the inside, with a thin brittle shell. The slowly-dried meringue is hard all the way throughout.

Yes, I have messed up meringues. But I still make them every year, and I enjoy their simplicity.

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The ratio is one egg white to 1/4 cup of sugar, if you need to scale the recipe.