EatingWell Wednesday: Meyer Lemon Meringues and Round-up Part 3

I did it! I made meringues. I wanted a sinless sweet snack, wanted to incorporate the meyer lemon and pay my weekly tribute to Eating Well recipes. So, I found a meringue recipe on their site, doubled it, substituted the lemon juice for the vanilla and baked away. Then again, I also use less sugar so heck, we will call it my own recipe now. By the way, I learned a lesson: do your best to make sure the meringues are consistent in size. I found that some of my guys were a bit chewy and underdone which lead to a dentist’s nightmare: sugary snack stuck in molars.

Oh my! Do you see what happened? A little peep must have been lonely and decided to hang in the bowl with the similar looking meringues. Want to participate in the PEEP contest? Read more here.

6 large egg whites, at room temperature 1
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon meyer lemon juice

1. Separate one egg at a time into a small bowl, letting the white fall into the bowl and discarding the yolk. If there’s any trace of yolk in the white, discard the white and start over. If it’s yolk-free, transfer to a clean medium mixing bowl. Repeat with the remaining 5 eggs.

2. Add cream of tartar to the whites and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until all the sugar has been added. Continue beating until the whites are stiff and glossy. Add lemon juice and beat for 30 seconds more.

3. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 200°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Fill a 1-quart sealable plastic bag (or pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip) with the meringue. Seal the bag almost completely, leaving a small opening for air to escape from the top as you squeeze. Snip off one corner of the bag with scissors, making a 3/4-inch-wide opening. Fold the top of the bag over a few times, then gently push the meringue down to the snipped corner. Working with the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet, pipe the meringue into 1 1/2-inch-diameter cookies, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart.

4. Bake the cookies until dry and crisp throughout, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let the cookies cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.

Speaking of desserts, Look what Chef Bliss came up with! Another
refreshing dessert: Meyer Lemon Granita.

Smitten Kitchen wanted to show some love to the often neglected fresh cranberry, so combined it with zest from the meyer lemon to create scones.