merry meringues for christmas

this Christmas was the year of the meringues. my mom and i have subscriptions to the foodnetwork.com magazine and it's absolutely amazing. we both cook out of it five nights a week.

the following recipe was on their website and yummmmm it's delicious!

meringue swirls:

• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature


• pinch of salt


• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar


• 3/4 cup superfine sugar


• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or use 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract)


• coarse sugar crystals and/or silver nonpareils, for sprinkling

how to make these sugary little treats:

1. preheat the oven to 250 degrees f.

2. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. beat the egg whites and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until frothy (use the whisk attachment if using a stand mixer).

4. add the cream of tartar.

5. increase the speed to medium high and add the superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. (i just ma

ke sure to pour slowly and to move it around the bowl as i'm adding it... otherwise it takes forever!)

6. scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the meringue (or add the extract) and continue beating until the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is thick, glossy and forms stiff peaks, about 6 minutes. (however, if it's not thick and glossy with stiff peaks don't stop, just keep beating it... you can never beat it too much)

7. fit a piping bag with a large star tip. fill the bag with the meringue and pipe spirals on the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. (you can use a plastic snack baggie if you don't have the piping bags)

8. sprinkle with the coarse sugar. (colored is always pretty!)

9. bake 1 hour, then turn off the oven and let the meringues stand in the oven until dry, about 2 hours.

*make sure to store in an airtight container up to 1 week or they start to get gooey or creepy.

i'm taking these to a christmas eve dinner with my fiance and his family tomorrow... so i made them christmassy by adding green and red sugar with a little heart for the tree topper... what do you think? yep, you can call me martha stewart.



you can also add cocoa powder to the mix (just a tablespoon or two) and it'll make chocolate which are also delicious!

song of the day:

merry christmas from the family

by: rosie o'donnell and the dixie chicks

if you haven't heard the rosie christmas cds... you need to because they are hysterical!