Home made Easy Meringue Heart Cookies

OMG! I love quick easy recipes that yield some of the best and most versatile foods that can be either ultimately simple or exotically decadent.

This is one of those recipes! Most of the time is spent in the oven drying out these goodies but they are always worth the wait.

Meringue cookies is one of those no fail confections that are also a hit at any gathering! They can be a low calorie delight or a high calorie dessert depending on what is needed for any particular event.

Meringue cookies can be flavored and colored easily. The only limitations with these meringues is your imagination! They can be made as an open cookie that can hold ice cream or fruit or you can also form a dollop or a round that looks like a actual cookie. It's all entirely up to you and what you are trying to do.

When making meringue cookies the only challenge is when breaking your eggs, please make sure when separating the yolks from the whites that you don't get any yellow in the white. Any amount of yellow yolk will prevent the whites from forming your meringue.

Another thing to remember is not to use your hands because your hands may contribute oil to your eggs, but if they are clean they make the best egg separators - just be careful!

What you will need for the meringue.

4 egg whites, at room temp

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla or 1/2 almond or 1 1/2 tsp finely shredded lemon rind

Preparing and making meringues:

1. Place egg whites in a stainless or glass mixing bowl, at room temperature, at least 30 mins

2. Preheat oven at 300 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, foil or brown paper, draw a heart shape diagram about 4 inches.

3. Beat eggs (and vanilla or flavoring) with a mixer at high speed until frothy.

4. Add cream of tartar, beat til soft peaks appear. Then beat in sugar a little at a time until stiff glossy peaks form.

5. Fill a baggy with the end cut off with meringue to form rims for open cookies or to form round cookies at about 2 to 3inches in diameter (if doing open cookies make sure to make a bottom by smoothing out about a 4 inches in dimension, then add a rim).

a. if you just want to make cookie forms, use a spoon and drop meringue on baking sheet

6. Bake for 3 mins then turn off the oven for 1 to 3 1/2 hours

Tips:

A. Meringues can be made ahead and kept up to two (2) days in a cool, dry place.

B. Overnight meringues are the easiest way to make these cookies, make the cookies, bake for twenty (20) minutes at 300F, then turn off the oven and leave the cookies.

C. If adding lemon fold these in after the meringue is stiff.

D. If adding food coloring, like red for Valentine's, put in when beating egg whites

E. Separating eggs - do this when they are cold

Add Ins :

Make sure that these are folded in after you have whipped the white's are stiff.

For chocolate meringues - 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, 1/2 cup cocoa powder.

For nutty meringues - 1/2 cup pecan chips or your choice

For peanut butter - 1/2 cup peanut butter chips