Meringue Kisses Cookies

Have you ever seen a cookie so beautifully delicate and inviting - just a blush of pink creates the perfect sweet kiss! These Meringue Kiss Cookies almost sing “Spring”!

Meringue cookies

4 room-temperature, egg whites

1 cup white sugar

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

pink sugar, to roll cookies in

-Set oven to 200F.

-Create pink sugar by placing 1 cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl. Add 2 - 3 drops of pink food coloring (or 1 of red food coloring) then with a fork, mash and stir the coloring into the sugar until the color is evenly distributed. Set aside.

-Carefully, separate the egg whites into a bowl, making sure there are no traces of egg yolk or shell in the whites. Place the whites in the clean and dry bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cream of tartar and salt to the bowl then begin mixing on low speed gradually increasing to high.

-Beat the egg whites until they become white and thicker. Slowly, begin to sprinkle in the sugar, just a teaspoon or so at a time. If you add it all at one, you will not have a smooth and fluffy result so be patient. Then add and beat in the vanilla extract.

-Continue beating on high speed until the meringue has formed into a glossy thick mixture that holds peaks when you lift the beater out. You can try the technique of holding the bowl of meringue over your head. If none of it spills out, your meringue is ready! If coloring the meringue, add just a tiny amount of food coloring to the meringue and mix it in. For this recipe, we used a touch of pink food coloring to create a soft, gentle pink. (Don’t let your meringue sit too long before piping as its texture tends to loosen.)

-Place your piping bag fitted with a large star or round attachment, into a tall glass then spoon the meringue into the bag.

-Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, using a dot of meringue in each corner to “glue” it to the baking sheet.  Pipe your meringues into small rounds about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, allowing at least an inch of space between each for airflow. Squeeze the piping bag while it’s about 1/2 an inch from the paper, lift as you squeeze then stop squeezing but continue to lift to finish the meringue with a peak on the top. If you prefer to be very precise, you can trace 1 1/2 inch circles onto the under side of your parchment paper to act as a template while creating the cookies.

-Place the baking sheet on the center rack to bake at 200 degrees for an hour. Turn the oven off and keep oven door closed for an additional 1-2 hours, so the cookies cool very slowly and keep their crisp exteriors. The meringue cookies are done when they are dried throughout. You'll be able to lift them off the baking sheet easily and they will feel very light and dry.  Makes about 48 meringue cookies

White Chocolate Ganache Filling:

7 ounces pure white chocolate (solid or chips)

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, divided

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

-Chop the chocolate if is is in a solid block form, then place it into a large plastic bowl. (Or if using chips, just place them directly into the bowl)

-Pour ½ cup of cream into a 1 -quart stainless steel saucepan then place over medium heat. Watch it as it comes to a simmer.

-Once the cream is simmering, immediately pour it over the chopped chocolate in the bowl. Cover the bowl and let stand for 2 minutes so the heat can gently melt the chocolate. Uncover the bowl and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth and silky. It is important that the chocolate is completely melted at this stage. (If the chocolate isn’t completely melted at this point place the bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds on medium-high power and whisk again.) Once smooth, let it cool for 5 minutes so it is no longer hot and then pour in the remaining 1 cup of cold cream while whisking until combined.

-Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or until completely cold. It must be thoroughly chilled before beating.

-Remove from the fridge then add the vanilla extract and beat with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed until thick, airy, fluffy and stiff. This will take 2-3 minutes but it depends on your mixer. Do not over-beat, as it will become grainy.

-Immediately, spoon ganache into a clean piping bag fitted with a star or round tip and pipe about 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling onto half of the meringue cookies. Choose a cookie for the top that is close to the same size as the bottom and sandwich the filling inbetween the two cookies, pressing just firmly enough for a bit of the filling to show around the seams of the assembled cookie.

-Roll the edges of each cookie in pink granualted sugar. Arrange on a serving tray and dust with more pink sugar. Makes about 24 cookies. Best if served the same day they are made.

Whip egg whites to soft peaks, then slowly add sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form that hold their shape. Stir in a couple of drops of food coloring if desired.

Fill large pastry bag with meringue fitted with a star or round tip and pipe onto parchment paper, swirling as you pipe, creating 1 ½ inch rounds.

Space meringue rounds about 1 inch apart on baking sheet.

Bake in 200 degree oven for about 1 hour, then turn off heat and leave in oven another hour, until the tops are hard and the cookies have dried out.

Make white chocolate ganache by heating cream to a simmer, then stirring in white chocolate until melted and smooth.

Whip chilled ganache until fluffy. Fill pastry bag with whipped ganache and pipe 1 - 2 teaspoons on the bottom of half of the cookies.

Place another cookie of similar size on top of the ganache filling, pressing the ganache between both halves to create a “sandwich” meringue cookie.

Roll the cookies on their side seams, where the filling is peeking out, in pink granulated sugar.

Arrange cookies on a platter then sprinkle more colored sugar on top.

Delicate swirls and peaks of meringue cookies mounded on a platter, beckon. Just about the sweetest treat imaginable!

PERSNICKETY NOTES:

*Meringue can be made in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer instead of a stand mixer, just be prepared for it to take a while. Although it is also possible to do by hand in a bowl with a wire whisk, it isn’t recommended as it takes a long time, and leads to sore arms and hands.

*It is possible to over beat your meringue, which will make them dry and not as smooth. Stop beating when it is ready, as the recipe describes above.