Holy Crap I Was in the NYTimes!

Shortly before Christmas, The New York Times put out a call for readers to submit their favorite holiday cookie photos and recipes. They were going to hand select about a dozen for a spread in that week’s online Dining Section. It was around 11pm when I read about it and the deadline was, well, right then. I made about a billion meringues around Thanksgiving and thanks to a hearty dose of holiday giddiness (OK maybe it was the whiskey or the fact that I had just rented a new camera lens) I took about a billion pictures to match. Guess it was worth it!

The screen capture is a bit blurry, click on the picture for the article.  The original blog post is right below.

Meringue Cookies

Adapted from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan

Yield: 5 dozen, depending on cookie size

Ingredients
Egg whites ………….. 4
Sugar ………………….. 1 cup
Salt ……………………. A pinch

Method
Put the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (alternately, you can use hand-held mixer or a whisk and a copper bowl). Starting on the highest speed, beat the whites for about 3 minutes, until they increase in volume and form medium-soft peaks that hold their shape. With the mixer running, gradually add 3/4 cup of the sugar and continue to beat on high speed for 5 minutes, at which the peaks will be stiff. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat 2 to 3 minutes more. When the meringue is perfectly beaten, the whites will be firm and shiny. When you remove the bowl from the mixer, dip the whisk attachment into the meringue and lift it straight up-the meringue that adheres to the whisk should a firm peak if you turn the whisk upside down. The meringue is now ready to pipe, swirl onto a pie, or fold into a batter and bake.

Baking
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to between 175F and 200F. Unless you are using a silpat, cut parchment paper sheets to fit two large baking sheets or jelly-roll pans.

Gently spoon the meringue into a large grease-free pastry bag fitted with a star tip.
Lift each corner of the parchment paper and pipe our a little dab of meringue to flue the paper to the baking sheets. Pipe out rows of cookies in any variety of shapes that appeals to you. You can pipe the cookies close to one another, as these don’t really spread.

Bake the cookies for 45 minutes to 1 hour, keeping an eye on them. The finished meringues should be dry and crisp but still white-pull them from the oven the instant they take on any color (and turn your oven down slightly if they color quickly-it may be too hot). Slide the parchment paper off the baking sheets and onto cooling racks. When the cookies are cool, lift them off the paper-they should come off without a hitch. If you have problem, run a spatula under the cookies. The cooled cookies are ready to serve or to frost, dip in chocolate, or spread with jam.

Storing
Meringues will keep for a few days, if not weeks, if you store them in a cool, dry place. They must be kept airtight, because they turn chewy when the air around them is moist or humid. If you’re not planning to do any more baking for a while, a turned-off oven is a great place to keep meringues-but don’t forget they’re in there.

Helpful Tips

* Separate eggs when they’re cold- that’s when the yolks and whites will divide most easily-but whip the whites after they’ve been at room temperature for at least 5 to 10 minutes-that’s when they’ll puff most prodigiously.

* Always separate eggs one at a time so you can inspect the white for any yolk or shell that might have been left behind.

* Make sure your mixing bowl is impeccably clean, dry and free of grease. If you are unsure, rub the inside of the bowl with white vinegar and allow it to dry.

* Whip the whites to medium-soft peaks before adding the sugar.

* Don’t whip your whites past the point of gloss-properly whipped whites are firm and shiny; overly whipped whites separate into small clumps.

* Use the meringue immediately-if you need to leave it for a few minutes, keep your stand mixer running on its lowest speed.

* Bake meringues at a temperature between 175F and 200F until they are dry and crispy and can be lifted off the parchment paper without effort. Keep an eye on them. They shouldn’t color.

* Don’t even think of baking meringues on a humid day-they’ll be as sticky as the weather.

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