Cheap & Easy Eats:

Marvelous Meringue Cookies

You’ll Never Throw Away

Leftover Egg Whites Again!             

By Nissa Simon

f you do even a moderate amount of cooking, chances are that some of the recipes you try call for egg yolks only, no whites. Before I knew any better, I’d slide the whites into a custard cup, cover them with plastic wrap or wax paper and tuck them into the back corner of the refrigerator with every good intention of finding a use for them.  In a matter of days, the whites had congealed into a heavy, thick mass that took hours to soak off the cup.  Then I learned the trick of freezing egg whites and having them on hand whenever I want to whip up a batch of marvelous, crunchy meringues.

            To freeze the whites, simply put them into a plastic container with a lid, tape a piece of paper with the date and the number of whites on top, and put them in your freezer.  That’s it.  Then, when you want an impressive dessert for little money and minimal effort, here’s what to do.

Ingredients

(Makes 4 dozen small cookies or 8 2-inch meringue cups)

4 leftover egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

            A couple of days to a few weeks before you need the meringues, take the whites out of the freezer and let them thaw either in your refrigerator (if you’ve really planned ahead) or on the kitchen counter. Either way, bring the whites to room temperature before you begin. Four egg whites will yield about four dozen small cookies or eight 2-inch meringue cups.

For every four egg whites, you need 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, about 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. (You can work meringue magic with any number of egg whites if you keep this ratio in mind:  Each egg white calls for 1/4 cup sugar, a pinch of cream of tartar, a pinch of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla.)

Preheat the oven to 250° F.  Line a couple of cookie sheets with aluminum foil (shiny side up) or a piece of paper cut to fit from a brown paper grocery bag (print side down).

            Place the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat for a minute or two, until the whites form a soft peak when the beater is raised. Then start adding the sugar slowly, one tablespoon at a time.  Beat in each tablespoon of sugar thoroughly before adding the next.  Continue beating until the meringue forms stiff peaks when the beater is raised and the sugar is completely dissolved.

            If you’re making cookies, drop rounded tablespoons of meringue onto the prepared cookie sheets about two inches apart.  If you’re making shells, spread the meringue in a 2-inch circle with a tablespoon, then make a hollow in the center of each. 

            Bake for an hour and a half to two hours until the meringues feel dry.  Turn off the heat and let them sit in the oven for an hour more, until they’re completely dry. Store the meringues in an airtight plastic container. They’ll last for weeks at room temperature.

To Serve

Arrange the cookies on a dessert plate as a light accompaniment to coffee or tea.  Use the shells as a base for ice cream, sorbet or fresh fruit salad (subscribers see the recipe for Ladies’ Choice fruit dessert in the Premiere Issue of the MAKING BREAD MINI-MAG).  Enjoy!

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Nissa Simon writes frequently on health-related topics for various magazines. She was the Health Editor for Reader’s Digest’s New Choices for more than 10 years and now serves on the

Editorial Board of MAKING BREAD.