These guys are so gorgeous. You could just place them on plates or in bowls and set them around as part of your kitchen decor. By the way, they are scrumptious! Make some. You know you want to. And you won't be sorry.
Makes
18
Ingredients for the
meringues:
4
egg whites
2
1/4 cups powdered sugar
1
teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon
cream of tartar
Ingredients for the
Ganache:
1/4 cup
heavy cream
1/4 cup
seedless raspberry jam
1/2 cup
semisweet chocolate chips
Directions for the
meringues:
Preheat
oven to 150 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. With a pen,
trace around a small round object 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Continue tracing
circles, leaving 1 inch between, until parchment paper is filled. (I put 15 to 18
on each sheet.) Repeat with second sheet pan. Set aside.
Place
egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until light and
foamy. When you lift the beater you
should see a curve remain in the egg whites, not peaks. Sift cream of tartar into egg whites, make
sure it is scattered over the top, not all in one place. Beat
until mixed.
With
mixer on low speed, very slowly add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Mix well. Beat on medium high speed until egg whites are
thick, smooth, satiny, and stiff peaks form when you lift the beaters. The peaks should stand up almost straight. This will take between 5 and 20 minutes.
Spoon
the egg white mixture in mounds onto prepared cookie sheets filling each circle
you drew. Or spoon mixture into a
decorating bag fitted with a 2D Wilton tip (also called a drop petal tip). To
pipe meringues with the decorating bag start in center of one circle and swirl
outward in a circular motion until the circle is filled with meringue. Repeat
until all circles are filled. You need to fit it all on the two sheets because
you need to bake it all at once and not let the rest wait for later.
Bake
for 2 hours or until meringues are crisp. Turn oven off and leave meringues in
oven until completely cool. Remove from oven when cool.
Directions for the
Ganache:
While
meringues are baking, prepare Ganache. Place jam and cream in a small
saucepan. Heat on medium low until small bubbles just start to appear and rise to the top around the edges. Do NOT boil. Add the chocolate chips and allow to set for 5
minutes. Whisk until mixture is smooth and all chocolate chips are melted and
mixed in. Refrigerate for an hour or so to thicken Ganache.
Remove
from refrigerator and whip the Ganache with an electric mixer on medium high until
Ganache is light, fluffy and the color becomes lighter, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a zipper style
bag. Cut a small piece off one corner of
the bag.
Directions
for finishing:
Pipe
Ganache onto half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies and press gently until
filling spreads just to the edges. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set Ganache.
I
painted a few thin stripes of gel food coloring on the inside of my decorating
bag, starting at the tip end and painting about halfway up the bag before
adding the meringue. That's what gives them the pink accents.
Store
in a cool dry place loosely covered. Do
not store in refrigerator.
