Was it just me and my crazy Sunday that had problems with these meringues? I’ve made meringues before… several times but I’ve never quite experienced the problems I had with these. I’m sure the other Barefooters faired well.
The first batch I made (yes, you read that correctly… the first batch) somehow glued themselves to my cookie sheets! I had to use a paint scraper to get the glue cookies off of the cookie sheets (paper and all). After I scraped the cookies off, I had to soak the cookie sheets for 2 hours then scrub them again with the paint scraper. Finally. I had victory and started over on Tuesday night.
I could blame Sunday night’s fiasco on several things. I could blame it on the fact that The Husband walked through the kitchen and saw the eggs on the counter and very thoughtfully put them back in the refrigerator.
I could blame it on one of the neighbors stopping by to gossip about other neighbors (which still makes me shake my head in shame), interupting the process of whipping the whites.
I could also blame it on the cops blocking my driveway so The Husband couldn’t get back in the house because of an incident next door… forcing me to have to stop everything again and go outside to gawk at the spectecal myself. (All I can say is, God help me when I have teenagers!)
I could blame it on my poor Kitchen Aid getting tired after 23 minutes on high speed without success.
I could also blame it on the fact that this recipe just seemd off from the beginning and I should have known better.
I accept the fact that sometimes things just don’t work out. This was one of those times. It worked out in the end. Sunday is one of the days I don’t have martial arts. I needed to do something physical, like scraping cookie sheets.
Of course, I had to do something to mess with the recipe. Berries were $5 for 1/2 pint this weekend. I decided to go with a fig and honey layer for my square cookies and a chocolate layer for the round ones. Check out the recipe for Ina Garten’s Meringue Chantilly, but make sure you use 3/4 t cream of tartar and only bake them for an hour at 200 degrees… not 2 hours.
**not gluten free**
Fig & Honey
1/2 package dried figs
1/2 c rum
1/2 c honey
1 vanilla bean, seeded
In a small saucepan, combine the reconsituted figs (discard leftover rum), honey and vanilla bean. Bring to a gentle boil over medium low heat. Garnish a meringue with the figs and enjoy.
Not a Barefoot Blogger yet? You should be ashamed of yourself. Come join us! Thanks BMK at Reservations Not Required for the great selection this week!
Those look even better than the original! I’m sorry about all the stress they gave you but it looks like they were enjoyed by all in the end, anyways.
23 minutes of whipping? Good for you for trying again. I just despise scraping baking sheets! Your versions look good, how did they taste?
Don’t feel bad, sometimes meringue will not co-operate. My mother once had three collapsed pavlovas before a dinner party, so she sandwiched them together with cream and made a torte. Incidentally, older eggs are better for meringue than very fresh ones – maybe that was your problem?
They look wonderful.
Your version looks great and I hate meringue and I love, love, love the fig and honey spin.
yum, the honey fig combo sounds like a great addition. Sorry you had some trouble!
Congratulations to you for even doing this! I didn’t even get that far!
I may try tomorrow, but with the prices of things lately I think I’ll stick to frozen berries.
We should do a culinary playdate soon!
amy
Dang! That makes me want to cook!
I am seriously obsessed with Ina Garten. I love her, and I wish she would move in and cook for me. Since that wont happen anytime soon (or ever) I’ve resigned myself to buying her books and obsessing over the show.
Love this post!
ooo fig and honey…interesting. Not usually being the biggest meringue fan I really thought that the stewed fruit made the recipe because it softened the meringue making it easier to eat…but I would like to try the honey/fig thing. Oh and I have teenagers and honestly somedays it’s just not pretty.
Good for you for not giving up and finding a way to make these! I used frozen blueberries which helped.
I’m so sorry these didn’t turn out for you. Meringues are very fickle creatures. A few things that can also cause issues: humidity, eggs not being room temp, any hint of leftover oil etc in your bowl that would prevent the eggs from whipping. I’m glad you tried them.
They are like cookies!
It can be done!
Sorry the neighbourhood is wacky and getting in the way of your culinary artistry.. you will be happy to know that I have raised three teens without any visits from the police.
Despite all of the drama (which made me chuckle) they look great! I love the fig and honey idea. I planned to make them last Sunday, but it was pouring rain and I was worried about the humidity. Maybe tomorrow.
It took me two tries too–although no pan scraping. The fig and honey and chocolate both sound good!
Your love for and your creativity in food is so amazing Cat… Definitely something to be considering (as you mentioned in the last post)…. My friend Cheryl would’ve hired you.
the modifications you made are so interesting. makes me want to play around with this too!
You really have no idea how much help I would need cooking. In fact, if you just wanted to move in with us in San Diego, you could take care of it all!
These look so yummy! I’m impressed