Or suspiritos, merenguitos, or super delicious irresistible sweet small white thing that you cannot eat just one because they melt in your mouth!
Around the world, these little guys have loads of different names, but something that is common everywhere is that everyone loves them. I have had people from a lot of nationalities to try them (really, from Canada, Germany, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, China, India, Mongolia, and I am sure I am missing more!), and the result was the same always… they just disappear.
You know what is the best part? They are so easy to make!
An important detail, to make these guys you need a stand mixer. This is because they need intense beating and by hand, you probably won’t be able to reach that point. You can do it with a hand mixer, but it will take time, patience and effort.
Ok, enough talk, lets go to the recipe!
Step-by-step photos coming soon!!
Mini Meringues
Course: DessertCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy8
servings15
minutes1
hour30
minutes300
kcalCrunchy mini meringues that will melt in your mouth. I dare you to try to eat only one!
Ingredients
200 g egg whites at room temperature (about 6-7 large egg whites)
190 g white sugar
3 g cream tartar (1 tsp)
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F (100°C) and line two large baking tray with parchment paper.
- In your stand mixer (or a bowl if you are mixing by hand), start beating the egg whites with the cream tartar at high speed until you see that it becomes very foamy and some soft peaks form (1-2 minutes).
- Decrease the speed and start adding the sugar gradually. When you incorporate all the sugar, increase the speed to high again and beat your meringue for at least 7-10 minutes until form stiff peaks (it will take longer with a hand mixer, just continue until you get the stiff peaks). You will see that the meringue is quite glossy too! If you are adding the vanilla, add it now, and mix a bit more to blend it.
Congratulations! You made French Meringue! (resist the temptation to eat it right away). - Pipe the meringue using a plastic bag with a wide icing tip (use the star tip to get pretty forms) into the parchment paper leaving some space between each other (just a little so they don’t touch when they grow a bit in the oven). You can give them any form you like, but try to keep them small and about the same size so they cook evenly. I like to do a swirl that goes upwards, maintaining the shape resulting from the star tip.
- Now comes the baking. You need to bake them for 1.5 hours approximately at a very low temperature so they start dehydrating slowly. By cooking them this way the result will be a crunchy mini meringue.
Remember: Each oven is different so don’t take the eyes from them for so long. The meringues must maintain their white colour on top!
Tip! If your oven doesn’t have good ventilation or things get a bit moist inside, you can increase the temperature to 225°F (110°C) and leave the oven door just a bit open so the moisture can get out. - To know if they are ready, open the oven and softly touch one of them. It should feel like a crust has formed that is very soft and smooth. The final test would be to take the tray out, wait for 2 minutes and try to take one meringue from the parchment paper. If it comes out clean, put it in your mouth because they are ready to eat! If they are still sticking to the paper or it’s hard to take them out, continue baking them as necessary, preventing them from getting browned on top.
- Now it’s coffee time! Enjoy it with a tea, coffee or eat them as a really nice dessert! I’ll post in a few days a really nice use that you can give this meringues to create a whole new dessert!
- If any are left, be sure to store them in a air-tight dry container. If they get chewy (and you don’t like them that way), you can put them in the oven at the same low temperature for a few minutes and they will return to be crunchy again!
