Sunday, November 28, 2010

Pistachio Meringues


These little meringues are the beginning of my holiday baking series here on Chocolate Shavings. Now that the holiday season is upon us - we got our got our first snow this weekend! - it's time to start thinking about all the baking that lies ahead!

These little snow caps are the perfect way to welcome the holidays. They are easy to make and have that perfect crunchy texture. The only trick to preparing them is making sure you leave them to dry out completely in shut-off oven before you package them. Meringues are pretty sensitive to humidity and moisture, so make sure, depending on where you live, that you aren't making these on one of those very humid days. Once the meringues are dry and perfectly crisp, you can package them as you please!

Pistachio Meringues

4 egg whites
1 pinch of kosher salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of finely chopped pistachios

Preheat your oven to 200F. Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar on high speed until frothy. Add 1/2 of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add remaining sugar and beat again for a few minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the meringue into a piping bag and carefully pipe little bite-size meringues. Try to keep your piping hand steady and pipe the meringues keeping the piping tip at the center of each meringue. To finish off each meringue, rapidly remove the tip when you are happy with the shape of your meringue, creating a little spike on each meringue. Top each meringue with a pinch of chopped pistachios.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until meringues are dry and crisp (depending on the humidity levels and the exact size of your meringues, it could take less time). Turn off your oven and leave the meringues to completely dry out over night. Gently detach the meringues from the parchment. Enjoy!

25 comments:

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

These are so pretty and delicate. Lovely!

Val said...

Those look beautiful. Pistachio is such a wonderful flavour to add to a meringue. They share the same elegance and subtelty.

Trissa said...

I look forward to the rest of the baking series. If the rest look as good as these first ones then I know we are in for a treat.

Anonymous said...

Yum! I have never made anything this delicate before. They look great :)

Traveling gal said...

The recipe says... "Bake for 1h30 hours" - is that 1 hour, 30 minutes?

Chocolate Shavings said...

Traveling gal: the meringues bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes but check on them after 1 hour as they might be done). Depending on the size of the meringues and the humidity levels in the air, they might be done before. Meringues can be a little fussy!

A Canadian Foodie said...

Absolute perfection. Truly. I would be tickled pink to get a gift this gorgeous!
:)
Valerie

maameemoomoo said...

Ideas for X'mas!!!!

I wanna try making these babies soon ^_^

Citron said...

Wow! Amazing! Are there still any left?

Chocolate Shavings said...

Citron: No..! The excuse to eat them fast is that they stay crunchy for a couple days only... and that they are such the perfect bite of crispness!

Danielle said...

Yummy! I used to work in a pastry shop and I got tooootaaaaally addicted to pistachio meringues!

OohLookBel said...

I really wish I could make meringues (I'm completely hopeless). These look so lovely, and your piping effort is beautiful *sigh!*

The Church Cook said...

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful!

Jamie said...

What a beautiful gift! I love meringues and yours are perfect! Now I am inspired!

Kasey said...

These look beautiful - a perfect holiday gift!

Simones Kitchen said...

Ah christmas cooking and baking starting here soon too! And we had snow too.. (which is unusual this early!) I love your pistachio meringues! Perfect and lovely!

Ravenous Rowie said...

Beautiful meringues! They looks so good, and pistachio would be such a great flavor! YUM!

polwig said...

I love Meringues they are one of my favorites ever and so are pistachios. This looks so yummy.

Deborah said...

I agree - the perfect way to start the holiday season!

Tokyo Girl said...

Hello there! I wanted to thank you for stopping by my place (site).

You have so many recipes I'd love to try, and they look rightfully delicious...

leaf (the indolent cook) said...

They look wonderful and I love the simplicity of the recipe. Thanks for sharing!

test it comm said...

What a perfect treat for the holidays!

Sean Grey Hanson said...

What a delicate little snow caps! Perfect way to welcome holiday season.

The Urban Baker said...

these are adorable. what a great way to use up egg whites!

dining table said...

These are really very pretty! I like the flavor of the pistachio very much.

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