Christmas Meringue: 5 Recipes From Mammie's Notebook

This year we're sweetening up the Christmas party with cake recipes even for novices while seasoned enthusiasts can try the Flaky Fir to serve as an aperitif. If you don't want to go without traditional desserts, Christmas meringue comes in dozens of variations associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines. We invite you to trust our choice of some recipes listed in Mammie's notebook.

Can the Christmas meringue surprise?

Foamy and crisp at the same time, the meringue comes to us from the distant 17th century, via the testimonies of an Italian chef named Gasparini and the cookbook of François Massialot. At the beginning, called “white biskit bread”, this confectionery adopted the name “meringue” from the Swiss village of Meiringen, which claims to give it its origin.

Traditionally made with whipped egg whites and sugar and sometimes tangy with lemon, vinegar or cream of tartar, the irreplaceable meringue takes pride of place on the festive table. While Christmas gingerbread treats are tempting, the moist, light and airy dessert continues to gain sympathy. Is there a difference between regular meringue and Christmas meringue? How to shape the festive variation so that it is more attractive and special?

The key to a good meringue is the formation of stiff peaks by denaturing the protein ovalbumin (a protein in egg whites) by mechanical shear. A binding agent such as salt, flour or gelatin can be added to the eggs. To flavor the meringues well, you can use vanilla, a small amount of apple juice or orange juice. On the other hand, if the extracts of these are based on an oil infusion, an excess can prevent the egg whites from forming a foam.

How to invite the festive spirit with a Christmas meringue?

You have a large choice between the Christmas pretzel recipe, the Christmas cupcake decoration and the Christmas cookie recipe with spices and citrus fruits, but the delicacies in the symbolic forms of the festival follow the tradition. In order for the Christmas meringue to look extraordinary, it must be in the form of a wreath, a tree, a snowman.

Meringue Christmas wreath: what ingredients

• ¼ tsp. cream tartare
• ½ tsp. tablespoon of sugar
• a pinch of kosher salt
• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 6 drops of green food coloring
• 1 tbsp silver sanding sugar
• 4 Twizzlers Pull 'n' Peel
• ¼ tablespoon of melted red candy

Preparation instructions

1. As preheating is crucial for the preparation of the Christmas meringue, set the oven to 150˚ To make the wreath shapes perfect, draw circles on a piece of parchment paper. Place it on a cookie sheet with the pen lines facing down.
2. In a medium bowl, combine cream of tartar, sugar and salt and then set aside.
3. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk, beat the egg whites and almond extract until the mixture begins to become frothy. With the mixer on high speed, gradually add the sugar mixture and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.
4. Add the green food coloring and whisk until blended.
5. Add meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pass onto a cookie sheet using the circles you have drawn. Add sprinkled decorations.

1. You need to bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the shapes become firm to the touch. Turn off the oven and let sit with the door closed for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from the oven, just before the edges start to brown. Let cool completely.
2. To create the bow decoration, separate the Twizzlers into a few lengths. Cut about 10 cm of each string, then form a knot. Use melted candy to help stick together. Let the melted candies set.
3. Use the remaining melted candies to adhere the knots to the wreaths and let set. Store crowns in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Peppermint Christmas meringue wreaths

A good dozen small meringues form our second proposal for a Christmas wreath. In three simple and fun steps, based on the traditional recipe for meringue cookies, enjoy the pleasure of carving one of the symbols of the holiday.

First stage

First line your mold with parchment paper or a layer of silicone. Preheat the oven to 110˚C. Flavor with peppermint extract.

Second step

Prepare a pastry bag with tip 4B and paint 4-5 strips inside the bag with red frosting. Fill the pastry bag with the meringue and the stars in the shape of a garland. The trick to getting a good template is to draw around a round cookie cutter or dip it in icing sugar and use it to "stamp" a template on your tray. Decorate with sprinkles.

Third step

After baking for 1 hour, unplug, but keep the door closed. Let the oven cool completely (this will prevent cracks) before removing the meringues. Finish with ribbon knots.

Ingredients for the third meringue crown

• 4 egg whites
• 220 g caster sugar
• A few drops of green food gel
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• Silver ball
• 6 red sour webbing candy or anything red, long and you can shape
• 100 g of melted white chocolate

In a few steps

1. Preheat the oven to 100 ° C. If this temperature does not exist for your oven, set it as low as possible, but cook for a shorter time to prevent the meringues from turning brown.
2. Beat the egg whites on high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Little by little and very slowly, add the sugar while continuing to whisk. You can also use your green food coloring and vanilla once they have reached steep peaks.
3. Once the color is uniform, turn off the mixer and scrape the bowl. The mixture should retain its shape and remain stiff and shiny.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw circles about 2 inches in diameter on it. Turn the paper over so that the side with the circles is under the meringues. Take a little meringue on your finger and dab each corner under the baking paper. Then press the paper firmly on the meringue to help it stick. This will prevent it from flying around your oven when cooking if you are using a forced-ventilated oven.
5. To perfect your meringues, use a pastry bag fitted with a 6B piping tip on the baking sheet as shown in the video. Bake for 1 hour or until they easily peel from the parchment paper. Let them cool completely in the oven to prevent them from cracking.

While your meringues are baking and cooling, you can prepare the knots by simply cutting the candies into two strips (lengthwise). Cut one of the strips in half to make two short strips and cut the ends in a “V” shape to make them look like the end of a ribbon knot. Simply place a small dab of melted white chocolate in the center of the strip.

Take one end of the strip, bring it to the middle and do the same with the other side. Glue the two short strips on top of where they meet on the knot. Let them rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before sticking on the meringues with a little chocolate.

Melted meringue snowmen

As ingredients, you need 4 large egg whites, ¼ teaspoon of almond extract, ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar, a cup of sugar, a decoration bag for decorate cookie icing, decorative icing with tips, and / or decorative gels.

É stages of preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 90˚ Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a wire whisk or in a large bowl if using an electric mixer. Add the almond extract and cream of tartar. Whisk on high speed until the mixture resembles snow with steep peaks. Gradually add the sugar, stirring at medium speed. Turn to high speed until the mixture begins to shine.
3. Assemble the decoration bag with the tip and fill with the meringue. Roll a ball for the snowman's head and another for the body by passing the meringue in both directions on the tray. Fill the baking sheets with separate snowman heads and bodies.
4. Bake the snowmen for 2 hours or until the meringue is set but not yet golden. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly and let the snowmen sit in the hot oven for another 2 hours. Once cool, assemble the snowmen.
5. Apply some frosting to the underside of a snowman head and the rest to a body. With the decorative icings, paint the eyes and mouth in black, the carrot nose in orange, the buttons in the desired color and the stick arms in brown.

Christmas trees with meringue

Christmas tree meringues are fun and easy to make. With a light, crunchy texture and topped with sprinkles, they are a festive addition to a holiday cookie plate. To be preferred plain without dairy products and gluten.

How to do it ?

These delicious wonders only require three ingredients and cook slowly, therefore, they are perfect for beginner bakers. Nothing could be simpler: egg whites and sugar beaten to stiff peaks.

1. Pour the meringue onto a whisk and then pass onto a baking sheet in any shape you wish. Cook in the oven at low temperature for a few hours until crispy. The oven is kept at 90˚C to remove all the moisture and give super crunchy and slightly sweet little "cookies".
2. Green in color and well mixed, pour the meringue into the pastry / tip bag. Once you get started, you're going to easily go into a groove and find a Christmas tree shape that works.
3. Simply top with nuggets and transfer to the oven.

Don't hesitate how to set the Christmas table, but put on the apron and "craft" wreath, tree, snowman or other sweet figurines to beautify and spoil the taste buds.

Perfect Chewable Roses and Snowflakes

Cute heads and crowns

Big crispy fir

Sources:

www.tablespoon.com

www.wilton.co.uk

www.delish.com