Johanne's Meringues (gluten free)

My daughter, Heidi, hosted a party this week and I made some goodies for the refreshments. I made green tea (matcha) cookies that required 3 egg yolks.  So, I had 3 egg whites left over and because I hate to throw anything away, I decided to make Johanne's meringues.

Johanne was my great aunt.  She immigrated from Denmark to America during around 1919.  She originally came to Ellensburg, Washington where her sister (my grandma) was living.  But since Ellensburg was a small farming community, Johanne wanted a big city.  So, she settled in Seattle.  She used to come and visit us for the Easter holidays and she was always so elegant in her style.  She was a private chef for the old establishment of Seattle.  This was way before the fad of being a chef.  She cooked for private parties where the dress code was the proper black and white.  She knew all the protocol of hosting a party.  When she passed away, I received her cookbooks which I treasure.  She shared her recipe for merginues with me years and years ago.  It's gluten free for those of you who would like to try it.

You will need:
3 egg whites (preferably room temperature)
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla (if you use white vanilla or vanilla powder it will keep the meringues white)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar

In small mixing bowl (with beater attachment), place egg whites and all ingredients EXCEPT sugar.  Beat at medium speed until frothy and medium soft peaks appear.  With mixer running, gradually add sugar a tablespoon at a time.  Continue to mix at high speed until very stiff peaks appear.  You need to be sure that the egg whites will stand up at this point on their own or else they will not bake properly.

Now for the fun part.  You will need a piping bag and a piping bag tip.  This is a reusable piping bag but you can buy disposable piping bags at your local craft store.

I used a closed star number 8 tip:

 (these tips are from my Aunt Johanne - can you imagine all the wonderful goodies they made all these years!) Place piping tip in piping bag and fill bag with meringue mixture. 

Take a baking sheet and cover it with parchment paper.  Pipe meringues directly on the parchment paper and bake in a 250 degree oven for 1 hour.  You can taste test one of the merginues at this point. They should be dry and only a tiny bit soft in the center.  If you wish, you can turn off the oven and open the door and have them sit there a few minutes so that they will continue to dry out.

Let them cool completely before serving.  I sprinkled some fairy dust on half of them and some cocoa powder on the other half...

Here's what left from the party.....I store them in an airtight cookie tin......

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of baking history.  They are so easy to make and they look so pretty on a cookie try.

If you're new to reading this blogpost, I want to welcome you and say "hello".  I love making new friends via Lilly My Cat.

Until next time, have a wonderful day,
Pat

*Please remember to visit my friends over at Handmade Harbour.