Meringue kisses are very easy cookies to make but can be tricky to get right. Helene, from Tartelette, made these Holiday Meringue Kisses to give away as part of some holiday gift baskets and provided a great tip to anyone who wants to try making them at home. The secret to achieving crisp meringue cookies that won't turn to grainy mush from moisture accumulation is to let them cool overnight in the oven by simply turning the oven off once they have baked. The residual heat continues to very gently cook the meringues, drying them to a lovely, light crispness. I have tried this technique myself a few times with good results, although I would warn everyone to put a note on the oven as a reminder that something is in there. I have had other people turn on the oven without checking it (and have foolishly done it myself, as well), only to smell burning meringues a few minutes later.
Helene tinted hers red and green for a Christmas-y look, but you can also try other small additions, such as adding peppermint extract to the cookies before baking or drizzling them with a bit of melted chocolate when they are done.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-13-2006 @ 8:17PM
lisa said...
I've made these with an additional 1/4 cup of raspberry preserves, and they were great. I wonder if you couldn't divide the recipe in half using 1/8 cup raspberry and 1/8 cup... lime curd, maybe? I'm not sure how citrus would react with the egg white, but it'd be worth wasting a few egg whites to find out. I might try that this weekend.
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12-14-2006 @ 10:34AM
Ilya Burkaltsev said...
...and 1/8 cup... lime curd, maybe
Not fun. I use 1|4 cup of lime curd
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12-14-2006 @ 12:35PM
Allison said...
I add chocolate chips to the meringue.
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12-15-2006 @ 8:57AM
Sara said...
If you want a citrus flavor you could use an extract or oil if you're concered about the curd.
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12-15-2006 @ 9:36AM
Daisy said...
Food & Wine magazine featured Gale Gand's recipe for chocolate-covered hazelnut meringues a few years ago. I made them for a cookie exchange last year and got lots of compliments.
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12-18-2006 @ 11:57PM
Gail Willoughby said...
I love making these but my question is how can I tell when they are done, sometimes the middle is softer than the outside - is that okay? or do I need to cook them longer?
thanks
gail
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12-20-2006 @ 6:00PM
Stephanie said...
OK, I made these last night and I am a bit dissappointed, because they were not done this morning. They are still quite sticky. Maybe my oven just cools off too fast. Anyone know if I can try re-baking them? Or do I just need to start over and bake the "tradional" way?
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