Sunday 8 December 2013

Christmas Eggnog Meringue Kisses


Christmas music in the stores, festive mugs at the coffee shops, it's time for holiday baking!

Last year i made these cute little Eggnog meringues and I've finally got this blog up and running so i can share the little morsels with you. They are sweet with winter spice and melt in your mouth for those sugary moments.

Christmas Eggnog Meringue Kisses
Ingredients:
4 egg whites at room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp of rum emulsion *
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
pinch of cream of tartar 
cinnamon for dusting

Equipment:
stand mixer
baking sheets
sifter
parchment paper 
piping bag with star tip or your choice

*through my baking i've found the use of emulsions incredibly useful and powerful when it comes to incorporating flavours. I use a variety of Lorann emulsions which I keep stocked in my pantry.

 1) Preheat oven to 200 and prep the baking sheets with parchment paper. -  parchment paper helps keep the meringues dry and wicks away the moisture that we are trying to bake out of the meringue when it's in the oven.
2) Sift together sugar and nutmeg, mixing thoroughly. Place egg whites in mixing bowl and mix until frothy. Gradually add the sugar to the frothy mixture and add a pinch of cream of tartar.
3) Continue beating egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. You can test this by pulling the beater out of the egg whites. If the peak stays - the meringue is ready.
4) Fill pastry bag fitted with chosen star tip. I chose a closed star tip for this - Wilton 2D. Depending on how large you want your meringue kisses you can pipe more or less meringue onto the sheet.
5) Holding the piping bag 90 degrees to the baking sheet and just 3/4 inch away, squeeze the bag piping out a kiss to the preferred size. Release the squeeze from the bag and pull away forming the tip of the kiss. Continue piping until the sheet is full. Meringues do not spread much when beaten to stiff peaks, so minimal space between the kisses are required.




6) Place baking sheets in oven for 1 and half hours. When done, peaks will be firm to the tough and will move off the parchment easily. If the meringues begin to brown, leave the oven door open while the completing the remaining cooking time.
7) Dust the meringues with cinnamon for an added festive touch.


Remove meringues from parchment and enjoy! Try to save a few for friends or as gifts. These are fantastic cookie exchange treats because they make so many little treats in one go. 

I'm not a true fan of eggnog, but these little bites carry the flavours of the festive drink without the thick heavy nog itself.

Happy Baking!




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