Easter Meringue Chicks
Light, crisp, and melt-in-your-mouth sweet, these little chick-shaped treats are a fun way to add a festive touch to your Easter dessert spread.
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- yellow food coloring
- orange carrot sprinkles or heart sprinkles for the beak
- black icing pen or black gel frosting for the eyes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 235°F (115°C). Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Set aside.
- Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is foaming like soap bubbles.
- Start adding caster sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, letting it incorporate after each spoonful until the sugar is all added. It may take 10 to 15 minutes. The meringue should be thick and glossy, and the sugar dissolved. It is ready when you pull the beater away and a stiff peak remains and you can rub the mixture between your fingers with no gritty feeling.
- Mix in yellow food coloring to desired color.
- Put a 1 cm plain tip on a piping bag and a leaf tip on another piping bag. Spoon 3/4 of the meringue into the first bag and 1/4 into the bag with the leaf tip.
- Squeeze mounds of meringue onto the prepared baking sheet. Each will have 2 layers, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter on bottom and slightly smaller on top. Then take the leaf tip and make wings on either side.
- Push 1 orange carrot sprinkle or orange heart shaped sprinkle into the front of each meringue to form the beak.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes or until meringues are firm but not browned. Turn the oven off. Allow the meringues to remain in the oven until cool. Remove from the oven.
- Dot on eyes with the gel frosting, keeping them small. If using a icing pen draw the eyes on.
Notes
- Separate eggs cold but then bring the eggs whites to room temperature. Warm egg whites whip up faster.
- Any amount of grease or yolk in the egg whites will keep them from whipping to stiff peaks.
- Cream of tartar acts as a stabilizing agent keeping the egg whites stiff.
- If you overwhip egg whites you risk losing moisture, this affects the crispness of your final product.
- Flavor the chicks with lemon essence and citric acid to make a sherbet lemon flavor, if you like.
- If you can’t find caster sugar you can use granulated sugar, it will just take more whipping time to dissolve or you can add granulated sugar to a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
Nutrition
Calories: 49kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 2gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 10mgPotassium: 44mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 0.3IUCalcium: 10mgIron: 0.2mg
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