She’s having a baby meringues

February 2, 2008 at 2:25 pm | Posted in Dessert, essay | 4 Comments
Tags: baby shower food, meringue

My little sister is expecting her first baby! In preparing for the blessed event, I’ve been checking out the cute baby clothes at Gymboree and Janie and Jack. I’ve been looking at Pottery Barn Kids for their latest nursery lines. And I’ve been thinking about yummy baby shower food.

I think these meringues may be the quintessential baby shower food item. They are light and airy and are darling on a dessert table. If a girl, I like to add strawberry extract and a few drops of red/pink food coloring.

Baby Shower Meringues

• 3 egg whites at room temp
• 1/3 t cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract (or strawberry)
• 1-3 drops red food coloring (depending on how pink you want these)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Beat egg whites in a clean metal bowl on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar. Increase speed to high and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar beating until stiff peaks form. Quickly mix in extract and food coloring.

Spoon meringue into a pastry bag and pipe onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 3 hours or until dry and crisp. Cool completely on baking sheets. Store in airtight container at room temperature. These can be made the day ahead.

From Semi-Homemade Desserts by Sandra Lee

I’m having so much fun in my manual setting that I had to include these photos as well! These meringue photos are straight-out-of-the-camera. Here’s the single:

And the triple shot: