A simple, delicate, showstopper. They can be any flavour and colour combination you like. You can dip the bottoms in melted chocolate or decorate them with sprinkles before baking. Easy to make these melt in your mouth cookies are a favourite of many.
I piped these with a piping bag and notched tip but you can use any type of ziplock bag with the corner cut off or even just a tablespoon to spoon the meringue out. They look great free formed and hold whatever shape you make them. I do recommend baking them on parchment paper or silpat mats.
It is a fantastic addition to your cookie collection.
Add almond flavouring, colouring (if using), cream of tartar and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved.
Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form.
Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag or in a corner of a food-safe plastic bag; insert a star tip. Transfer meringue to bag.
Pipe cookies 2 in. apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
Bake 40-45 minutes at 250 degrees until firm to the touch.
Turn off oven leave meringues in oven 1 hour.
Remove from oven; cool completely on baking sheets.
Remove meringues from paper; store in an airtight container at room temperature.
I like to double up my cookie sheets to insulate the bottoms of the meringues from getting to dark, especially when making white meringue cookies.
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You can serve them just as they are or dress them up with filling. I decided to sandwich these with a luscious ruby red grapefruit curd.
I have made some great new friends this year and have enjoyed getting to know them better!
And I rang in the new year with one of my very best friends back home.
Those are just some of the highlights! Indeed it has been great fun!
I am so excited to start 2011, I plan on making the next part of my journey the best ever.
Since I am on the road…..literally, the first post of the year is not food related.
I have been working for days on the subject of this post!
I needed a few days to unwind from the craziness of the past few months so I decided it was time to break out the tools and work on a few Pysanky.
There is nothing more relaxing then taking a pristine white egg and turning it into a small art masterpiece!
The designs are endless, the meanings plentiful and the creativity level boundless.
The tools are minimal, though you would probably need to order them, unless you are lucky to have a Ukrainian Bookstore in your city.
When I can’t make it Edmonton, I order all my decorating supplies from theUkrainain Gift Shop.
I use eggs from the grocery store. Be sure to select ones that are blemish free.
Before I begin I use a soft papertowl and lots white vinegar to clean the egg.
I sketch all the designs onto the eggs using a nice sharp pencil.
Then you are ready to start. Using the kistka you go over the pencil lines with wax. Anything covered with wax in this first step will remain white on the finished egg.
The first 6 pictures are a quick look at the color varations through the process. Below that , each step of the design is shown in pictures so you can see the process for each egg. Some go through many color changes before they are complete.
For the designs I am working on, the first color for all 4 eggs was yellow.
After the first color the changes vary. Even the same color on different eggs will come out different. Every egg is truely one of a kind.
In each step, the colors get darker.
Notice the Butterfly egg in the bottom left corner of the picture. The steps for that design are explained below.
And a quick snapshot of the finished eggs.
The Star Pysanky.
The egg was dyed yellow in the first step. Next up, orange.
Red is the final color before it goes into the black dye.
Now black, we are ready to remove the wax.
Many thin layers of varnish are applied to the finished design.
The Fish and Flower Pysanky.
The darker lines on the egg are what have been drawn in wax for the first part of the design.
The first color of the egg was yellow, as shown the in the group picture above.
Next up was light green. Then dark green.
Next I used a water bath to remove as much green dye as possible from the egg.
Next up is a very quick dip into the orange. I do this so that my next color will be a bit deeper.
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The removal of color from the eggs gives the surface a mottled appearance and the dyes from this point on take on a *bleached denim* feel.
Dark red is the final color before we remove the wax. I love this egg for its dramatic change!
The finished Fish and Flowers Pysanky.
The Butterfly Pysanky.
We start off with a yellow egg, as mentioned before, each egg will take on a different hue in the dyes. This is the Butterfly design in light green.
Then dark green.
Using a water bath, I removed as much of the green dye as possible in preparation for it to be dyed red.
Notice the bright red butterfly in the bottom left hand corner!
After we color in the parts that will remain red, the egg goes into a second water bath and the red is removed in preparation to dye the egg 2 shades of blue.
First light blue.
Then into Royal Blue.
And finally into black. The egg is complete and ready for the wax removal!
The finished Butterfly Pysanky.
I hope you have a fantastic 2011! If you would like to learn more about Pysanky, please check out this website, Learn Pysanky.! It has all the information you need plus there are many dfifferent Pysanky designs featured on the site for you to print off.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me using the contact button on the right hand side of the page!
