Goose Egg Meringue Kisses

Easter.  Eggs.  Pastels.

These are words that evoke thoughts of Spring for me.  As I thought about what I could post to go along with our theme of Easter and Passover fare this month, I immediately thought of pretty little pastel meringue kisses.

My daughter loves the tub of meringue cookies that Trader Joe’s sells.  She very rarely willingly helps me in the kitchen but when I told her about this post she was eager to make these kisses on one condition  – she could eat them all!

Although I don’t have ducks anymore, I still buy both duck and goose eggs in season so when I recently bought several dozen duck eggs and a few goose eggs, Spring had officially sprung for me!

Goose and duck eggs are wonderful in baking because of their additional protein in their whites so I thought one goose egg white might do well in these kisses.  The kisses didn’t quite pipe out as well as I would have liked but I think it has less to do with the goose and more to do with the amount of sugar I added and the amount if time if whipped them.  I think they could have used a little more sugar and a little more whipping time.  My daughter said they tasted just like Trader Joe’s though so I felt it was worth the effort.

 

Meringue Kisses

makes about 40 kisses

adapted from the quintessential cookbook, The Joy of Cooking

 

1 goose egg white (about 1/3 c. or about 3 chicken egg whites), room temp

3/4 c. sugar

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. cream of tartar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

food coloring if tinting

sprinkles for decorating before baking

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and prep a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.  Beat the egg white(s), salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks start to form.  Slowly add in the sugar and beat after each addition and beat on high-speed several minutes until stiff peaks form (this is where I think I should have been a little bit more critical of peak stiffness).  Add in the vanilla and beat again until fully incorporated.  I split my meringue in  half and tinted one portion with red gel coloring (only 2 drops) to get a light pink hue.  The other portion I tinted with 6 drops of yellow gel food coloring.  I placed each meringue portion in a disposable piping bag with star tips and my daughter, Addison, piped them.  She enthusiastically topped each kiss with a few sugar crystals before baking.

I baked these kisses for 10 minutes, flipped the baking sheet around in the oven and baked another 10 minutes.  Then I turned the oven off and let them sit in the oven for another 40 minutes.  These cookies can sit out on the counter for days (in Denver’s climate) but in a humid climate store in an air tight contained to avoid them absorbing too much moisture.  Even if you don’t like the sweetness of these cookies they will certainly look beautiful on your table as guests arrive for festivities!

Posted on April 9, 2017
This entry was posted in appetizers, brunch, cookies, desserts and tagged duck egg, goose egg, meringue, pastels, spring, Trader Joe's.