A Bitten Word recipe, adapted from Everyday Food (May/June 2003)
As we mentioned, for our Admiral Peary Party, we handmade a couple food items to mix in with the snacks we picked up at the store.
One thing we knew from the get-go was that we wanted to make some meringue cookies. They're so easy, and we knew they'd go great with our all-white spread of Polar-inspired treats.
We found a good meringue recipe from an old issue of Everyday Food (R.I.P.!), which we adapted a bit, swapping in white chocolate chips to keep with our fête en blanc theme, and adding a little peppermint to give the cookies a minty twist.
We actually doubled the recipe below, which was very easy, although we had to bake them in two separate batches because we didn't have enough oven space. We ended up making about about 60 cookies, which our guests gobbled up.
These meringues are so easy to make and incredibly tasty: chocolaty and minty and light as air, with that perfect crunchy-chewy texture you get from a classic meringue. They were a hit!
Peppermint White Chocolate Meringues
adapted slightly from Everyday Food
Subscribe to Martha Stewart Living (since you can't subscribe to Everyday Food)
(This photo: Everyday Food/Martha Stewart)
Prep: 30 mins | Total time: 1 hour 30 mins
Yield: Makes 30
INGREDIENTS
4 egg whites, warmed in the shell (submerge whole eggs in warm water)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 cup sugar
12 ounces white chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 225 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, vanilla and peppermint until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar (1 tablespoon every five seconds), and continue to beat until meringue is stiff and glossy, about 1 1/2 minutes more. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
Drop meringue by scant 1/4 cups onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until dry and just golden brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool on baking sheets.
