The Problem with Separating Eggs
It’s pretty obvious at this point that Sofie and I are avid bakers. We love the process; it’s relaxing for us, not to mention delicious! But something that is incredibly annoying about baking – and I truly don’t know that anyone in the world would disagree – is separating eggs. Not only because I always somehow break the yolk, but also because you always end up with either leftover egg yolks or egg whites. More often for us, it’s the latter, especially if we’re making something like pastry cream (kagecreme), where we use about 3 egg yolks just for one batch. It always feels so wasteful to get rid of perfectly good egg whites! And, no offense, but I refuse to make an egg-white omelet.
The Perfect Solution for Leftover Egg Whites
Enter these meringue kisses! These adorable little guys are super crunchy and deliciously sweet. Simply put, they taste like straight up sugar, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Sometimes, we love to give them a tiny bit of color by making them a light pink. A perfectly simple and adorable treat to make for any celebration or even just as a snack. Yum!
Tips and Tricks and Fun Twists!
The recipe, as we’ve mentioned, is simple enough! Whip up your egg whites with some lemon juice, vanilla extract, and a splash of food coloring (if you like). Then, add the sugar a spoonful at a time, which avoids any graininess in the final product. Keep whipping until you reach stiff peaks, pipe onto a baking tray (or several) – a fun twist you can add is to top your meringue kisses with sprinkles! It adds a nice crunch and a lovely pop of color! Then you bake on a very low temperature. Once an hour or so is up, you can turn off the oven and leave them in there for another hour. After that, prop open the oven door a bit and let the oven completely cool. Soon enough, your meringue kisses should be beautiful and crispy, and then it’s time to enjoy! You can also dip the bottom in chocolate or candy melts for added flavor and to change it up! Let us know if you try the recipe – happy baking!
Kyskager (Meringue Kisses)
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar (corresponds to about 50g or 1/4 cup per egg white from one egg, if you have a different amount of egg whites left over!)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- A splash of lemon juice
- Food coloring of your choice (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220 F (100 C).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add your egg whites and splash of lemon juice. Start whipping until your egg whites look frothy.
- Add in your vanilla extract. We also added in a drop of red food coloring to get a subtle pink color. Slowly add your sugar one tablespoon at a time while the mixer is running. If you add it too quickly, the sugar will not dissolve and it will end up grainy!
- Once all the sugar has been added, keep whisking until you have reached stiff peaks – this can take a little while!
- Once you have reached stiff peaks, add mixture to a piping bag. We used a star nozzle to create the ridge shape!
- Pipe out cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet (we ended up using two sheets). Try to keep everything the same size. Depending on the size you decide to make them, you could end up with around 40 cookies!
- Bake for about an hour. Try one after that time and if it is still soft in the middle and doesn't release easily from the parchment paper, you can let it bake for another 10 minutes. Once an hour or more has passed, turn off the oven but leave your meringue cookies to cool in the oven. This will likely take another 1-2 hours. After at least an hour has passed, you can open the oven a bit to let the heat dissipate. This whole process helps the meringues dry out fully with no cracking.
- Once the oven is cold, take out your meringues and enjoy!
