These little meringues are the beginning of my holiday baking series here on Chocolate Shavings. Now that the holiday season is upon us – we got our got our first snow this weekend! – it’s time to start thinking about all the baking that lies ahead!
These little snow caps are the perfect way to welcome the holidays. They are easy to make and have that perfect crunchy texture. The only trick to preparing them is making sure you leave them to dry out completely in shut-off oven before you package them. Meringues are pretty sensitive to humidity and moisture, so make sure, depending on where you live, that you aren’t making these on one of those very humid days. Once the meringues are dry and perfectly crisp, you can package them as you please!
Pistachio Meringues
4 egg whites
1 pinch of kosher salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of finely chopped pistachios
Preheat your oven to 200F. Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar on high speed until frothy. Add 1/2 of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add remaining sugar and beat again for a few minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the meringue into a piping bag and carefully pipe little bite-size meringues. Try to keep your piping hand steady and pipe the meringues keeping the piping tip at the center of each meringue. To finish off each meringue, rapidly remove the tip when you are happy with the shape of your meringue, creating a little spike on each meringue. Top each meringue with a pinch of chopped pistachios.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until meringues are dry and crisp (depending on the humidity levels and the exact size of your meringues, it could take less time). Turn off your oven and leave the meringues to completely dry out over night. Gently detach the meringues from the parchment. Enjoy!
Enjoy the read!
Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets
November 29, 2010 at 12:26 am (14 years ago)These are so pretty and delicate. Lovely!
Val
November 29, 2010 at 3:43 am (14 years ago)Those look beautiful. Pistachio is such a wonderful flavour to add to a meringue. They share the same elegance and subtelty.
Trissa
November 29, 2010 at 7:46 am (14 years ago)I look forward to the rest of the baking series. If the rest look as good as these first ones then I know we are in for a treat.
warmvanillasugar
November 29, 2010 at 8:28 am (14 years ago)Yum! I have never made anything this delicate before. They look great 🙂
Traveling gal
November 29, 2010 at 10:38 am (14 years ago)The recipe says… “Bake for 1h30 hours” – is that 1 hour, 30 minutes?
Chocolate Shavings
November 29, 2010 at 11:08 am (14 years ago)Traveling gal: the meringues bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes but check on them after 1 hour as they might be done). Depending on the size of the meringues and the humidity levels in the air, they might be done before. Meringues can be a little fussy!
A Canadian Foodie
November 29, 2010 at 8:51 pm (14 years ago)Absolute perfection. Truly. I would be tickled pink to get a gift this gorgeous!
🙂
Valerie
maameemoomoo
November 30, 2010 at 5:16 am (14 years ago)Ideas for X’mas!!!!
I wanna try making these babies soon ^_^
Citron
November 30, 2010 at 10:05 am (14 years ago)Wow! Amazing! Are there still any left?
Chocolate Shavings
November 30, 2010 at 10:17 am (14 years ago)Citron: No..! The excuse to eat them fast is that they stay crunchy for a couple days only… and that they are such the perfect bite of crispness!
Danielle
November 30, 2010 at 7:26 pm (14 years ago)Yummy! I used to work in a pastry shop and I got tooootaaaaally addicted to pistachio meringues!
Moogie
November 30, 2010 at 9:22 pm (14 years ago)Yum…. I’m your newest happy follower. http://moogieland.blogspot.com/
smalltownoven
November 30, 2010 at 10:40 pm (14 years ago)Gorgeous!
OohLookBel
November 30, 2010 at 11:19 pm (14 years ago)I really wish I could make meringues (I’m completely hopeless). These look so lovely, and your piping effort is beautiful *sigh!*
Kay Heritage
December 1, 2010 at 12:06 am (14 years ago)Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful!
Jamie
December 1, 2010 at 12:26 pm (14 years ago)What a beautiful gift! I love meringues and yours are perfect! Now I am inspired!
Kasey
December 1, 2010 at 4:04 pm (14 years ago)These look beautiful – a perfect holiday gift!
Junglefrog
December 1, 2010 at 6:28 pm (14 years ago)Ah christmas cooking and baking starting here soon too! And we had snow too.. (which is unusual this early!) I love your pistachio meringues! Perfect and lovely!
Ravenous Rowie
December 2, 2010 at 2:48 am (14 years ago)Beautiful meringues! They looks so good, and pistachio would be such a great flavor! YUM!
polwig
December 2, 2010 at 12:17 pm (14 years ago)I love Meringues they are one of my favorites ever and so are pistachios. This looks so yummy.
Deborah
December 2, 2010 at 12:49 pm (14 years ago)I agree – the perfect way to start the holiday season!
Melody Fury - GourmetFury.com
December 2, 2010 at 6:50 pm (14 years ago)What a stunning holiday recipe! Would you like to submit it to my contest to win a cookbook? Just wanting to share the holiday cheer (and exposure to your blog) Would love for you to win 🙂 http://ow.ly/3j61M
Tokyo Girl
December 2, 2010 at 6:51 pm (14 years ago)Hello there! I wanted to thank you for stopping by my place (site).
You have so many recipes I’d love to try, and they look rightfully delicious…
leaf (the indolent cook)
December 6, 2010 at 9:39 am (14 years ago)They look wonderful and I love the simplicity of the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Kevin
December 6, 2010 at 10:27 pm (14 years ago)What a perfect treat for the holidays!
Sean Grey Hanson
December 7, 2010 at 2:15 am (14 years ago)What a delicate little snow caps! Perfect way to welcome holiday season.
The Urban Baker
December 18, 2010 at 10:24 am (14 years ago)these are adorable. what a great way to use up egg whites!
dining table
February 23, 2011 at 11:35 pm (14 years ago)These are really very pretty! I like the flavor of the pistachio very much.