Meringue Madness

Ever since licking the bowl and beaters when I baked that lemon meringue pie, I’ve had meringue on the brain.  And since I was not going to tempt myself with another whole pie just to get a meringue fix, I figured meringue cookies would do.

FoodFash Mocha Meringue Cookies

3 egg whites, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon coffee extract

6 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and extracts at medium speed until eggs are frothy and forming soft peaks.  Gradually add sugar and then beat for 4-5 minutes at high speed, until meringue is stiff and looks like the picture above.  Scoop all of the meringue into a large ziploc bag (or pastry bag) and cut off the corner of the bag.  Squeeze meringue onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet into whatever shape your heart desires.  Bake for one hour, turn off the oven, and allow the cookies to stay in the oven for a few hours.  Store in an air-tight container, separated by parchment paper, at room temperature to prevent cookies from getting sticky.

I left the cookies in the oven overnight and when I popped a few in my mouth as I rushed out the door this morning, they were perfect!  Light and airy with a hint of coffee flavor, I was down with it.  But when I arrived at home after working all day (sooo excited for a cookie), it was a totally different story.  You see, in my 7:30 AM frenzy, I figured the cookies would be just fine stored in the oven all day.  I figured wrong.  Meringues and the slightest bit of humidity equal marshmallow taffy-like things.  No bueno.

As I hesitantly tossed them into the trash can, I was already thinking of new meringue flavor combinations.  New flavor combinations, how I need to buy a pastry bag, how similar baking meringues are to baking macarons.  Lots and lots of thoughts going on as each fluffy fail found its way to the bottom of the bag.