Bite-Size Meringues

Got some leftover egg whites to use up? Want a light and airy treat? Here's your recipe! These are like the meringues that you can get at French pastry shops, only a much smaller version (thus you will not feel you've gone on a sugar bender eating one lol). The resulting texture will depend a lot on the level of humidity in your kitchen; no matter what, they are far from heavy. If you feel they need a little something extra, you can dip them in melted chocolate or garnish as you like (I have seen M&M's and all sorts of bits mixed in the ones of the bakeries in France). You could also change up the flavor by using a different extract instead of vanilla.

Original recipe credit: https://stressbaking.com/french-meringue-cookies/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

pinch of kosher salt

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 drop food coloring (if desired)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 200°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Add the egg whites, cream of tartar, and kosher salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix ingredients on medium-high speed until frothy and soft peaks form (around 30-60 seconds).

3. Leave mixer running and begin adding sugar 1 teaspoon at a time, letting mix in after each addition (yes, this takes time, but it's necessary!).

4. After all sugar has been mixed in, keep mixer going and add the vanilla extract (and food coloring, if using). Continue mixing until glossy with stiff peaks (takes around 10 minutes total, be patient :))

5. Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large round or star tip. Pipe mixture into desired shapes on prepared baking sheets (I made small "mounds" that were about 2" in diameter). These won't spread at all, so you won't need them to be far apart from each other (mine were maybe 1/2" apart). **Pic is after they baked and 2 had been sampled lol**

6. Bake both sheets at same time (I put two racks fairly close to each other in middle of oven) for 1 hour.

7. When time is up, do NOT open the oven. Turn it OFF and let the meringues rest in oven to finish with the residual heat for at least 1 additional hour.

8. Remove from oven and transfer to an airtight container. Enjoy!