One of my favorite cookies is meringue cookies; it is like air bites of flavor. OK, so I made up that phrase, but to me, it fits well. Two kinds of meringue cookies, but I like them either way. The dry the whole way through or the type that melts in your mouth, and you have a chewy center.
I purchased a couple of freeze-dried fruit packets to try in some of the cookies that adding fresh fruit would not work, for example, meringue. Some of the freeze-dried fruits do not have as strong a taste as its fresh fruit counterpart. So I usually help it by adding a little extract or spice to give the flavor a little punch. What I did with the tangerine flavor was add just a small amount of orange extract since I didn't want to lose the tang of the tangerine.
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of freeze-dried fruit or what the process is to creating freeze-dried fruit at home, check out the links.
Recipe
Tangerine Meringue Cookies
Barbara HallIngredients
- 4 (4) Egg whites room temperature
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Cream of tarter
- 1 cup (200 g) Sugar white
- 24 grams (24 grams) Freeze-dried tangerine 2 - 12g bags
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Orange extract
- 1 drop (1 drops) Coloring gel orange
Instructions
PREP WORK
- In a food-possessor, add both bags of the freeze-dried tangerines and pulse until they are powder. I then add this to a strainer to separate the more significant pieces from the tangerine powder. You should get about ⅛ cup. Weigh or measure the sugar, add the tangerine-strained powder to the sugar, and mix.
- Next, you need to separate the egg whites from the yolk. I use a three-bowl system to ensure that no yolk gets into my egg whites. Bowl 1: I have an egg separator that puts the whites into the bowl and the yolk in the separator. In Bowl 2, I add the yolk. In Bowl 3, I add the whites. Repeat for the other three eggs. (A picture is above in the post if needed.)
- Now, regarding the equipment, I take a paper towel, dab some white vinegar on it, and wipe the inside of the mixer bowl. I also do the whip attachment. I also got the piping bag and the tip ready for the meringue right after it is mixed. (More detail for equipment above)
MAKING TANGERINE MERINGUE
- If you have a stand mixer, please use it; it takes ten to fifteen minutes to complete. Add the egg whites to the bowl and mix on medium speed with a wire whip attachment until the egg whites are frothy about a minute. Add the cream of tartar and turn the mixer on to the highest setting. This is IMPORTANT! add the tangerine-sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time. After adding all the sugar, continue to beat on high speed for 10 minutes or until you have stiff peaks. Turn the mixer off, scrape down the sides, and add the orange extract and one drop of the orange coloring gel. Turn the mixer back onto the highest setting for a minute.
- Take a little meringue between your fingers; it should feel smooth, not gritty. If it feels gritty, that means the sugar has not been fully incorporated with the egg white. Turn the mixer back on high for another minute. Don't overbeat the egg whites. When finished, if you take the attachment off the mixer and turn it up with the meringue at the top, the peak should stand up without slowly dropping down. Also, the meringue should look glossy.
- Line two baking sheet pans with parchment paper. I bake both pans side by side. My oven is not that wide, so one sheet pan is slightly up on the side of the second pan. So when piping the meringue onto the pan, I leave a good 2 to 3 inches on one side so the overlapped pan does not touch the meringue on the other pan. They only overlap about an inch, but the good thing is the piped meringue does not move. I use a large open star tip and pipe out the cookies. You can make swirls or star shapes. The type of cookie shape you create is your choice. I do both.
- Bake at 225°F (110°C) for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and let them in the oven for 2 hours before taking them out. IMPORTANT! Do not open the oven door until the 3 hours have finished. They will start to collapse into themselves if cool air hits them before the drying process is finished. I did it once and learned my lesson. 🙂
Notes
NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
Jodi
Hi Barbara!
YUMMY! And wow, these look fabulous. I'm so happy to have found your blog! I plan to make these asap.
Barbara
Hi Jodi, so very happy you found my blog!