Meringue Stars Recipes

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Add vanilla; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Gently fold in cocoa. , Insert a large open star tip into a pastry bag; fill half full with meringue. Pipe stars, about 1-1/4 in. in diameter, or drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. , Bake at 300° for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from paper; cool on wire racks., In a microwave, melt chocolate and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip cookies halfway into glaze; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture forms stiff peaks.

Steps:

• Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment. In a small bowl, mix both sugars together. In another small bowl, mix the jam with enough food colouring to create a vibrant red colour.
• In a clean, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, using electric beaters or a tabletop mixer. Add about a third of the sugar, whipping for 1 min or so, until stiff and glossy. Gradually add the remaining sugar until you have a glossy meringue that holds stiff peaks.
• Heat oven to 120C/100C fan/ gas 1/2. Turn your pastry bag inside out and, using a spoon, paint three lines of coloured jam from the top to almost the end of the bag. Fill with the meringue mix and twist the end to close.
• Holding the bag vertically over the tray, apply enough pressure to create a base, then quickly draw the bag upwards to create little points. The jam will give the meringues a stripy pattern as they pass through the bag.
• Bake in the oven for 1 hr or until the meringues sound hollow when you lift one and tap the base - they should have a crunchy shell and not be too chewy. Leave to cool in the oven with the door closed, then store in a plastic food bag or airtight container until ready to use.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 110C/ 100C fan/gas ¼.
• Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick liner or parchment paper (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).
• Tip 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
• Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don't over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.
• Sift one third of the 115g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don't over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy.
• Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape. Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer.
• Bake for 1 ½-1 ¾ hours in a fan oven, 1 ¼ hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour.
• Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.) Serve two meringues sandwiched together with a generous dollop of softly whipped double cream.