Meringue Nests with Mixed Berries
I am back with a recipe! WOW… It has been a long time since I posted a recipe and for the main reason, I didn’t have my camera and equipment in Florida. Long story short, it was at our home in Darien. Now that chapter is closed, I am excited to get back behind the lens.
Who is looking for an EASY, Delicious dessert for the 4th??
ME!!!! If you know me, you know I love a good dessert. For me, a meal is not complete without a little sweet at the end. 🙂
Who likes an easy recipe or a quick shortcut?
Me again! I am ALL ABOUT EASY! Yep… no complicated cooking for me. I want fewer ingredients and less time in the kitchen. I would rather be eating the meal and enjoying our guests than be in a hot kitchen.
I have been craving meringues and thought I could get away with buying them ( that’s the shortcut!!) but I couldn’t find them at Publix or Wholefoods down here… Darn, I miss Palmers (a Darien Local grocery store) when I need something special. So I got out a few eggs, sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla.
That’s right! 4 ingredients!
You whip them all together in a KitchenAid Mixer to form stiff peaks and then plop them gently on a parchment lined baking sheet If you have a pastry bag and tip, you could pipe out beautiful rings. But I couldn’t find one at my parents and so I simply made mounds of stiff sugary egg whites on the baking sheet. I added a dip in them with the back of my spoon and into the oven.
Read the recipe and take note of the cooking and cooling time!
The meringues cook at a low temperature for a long time and then cool in the closed oven to get stiff and dry. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. This is important and very hard for my family. We like to open the door .. and check what we are making.
I didn’t read the recipe all the way through and didn’t allow for that much time to cook and cool. 🙁 So I cooked them at 250 degrees for 1 hour and cooled for 1 hour in a closed oven (NO… I did not open the door – promise!)
They turned out really well but were a little chewy. I like chewy, so I was happy!
If you don’t want to make the meringues, do a little local search and buy them.. then you know for sure you will have an easy, foolproof dessert! For an even yummier dessert, swap the berries for your favorite ice cream and chocolate sauce! So good…
Meringue Nests with Mixed Berries
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups berries: Strawberries Blueberries, Raspberries and or Blackberries
- Optional: Ice cream and chocolate sauce
- Fresh Mint for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°F.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar with a mixer at medium speed until foamy. Increase mixer speed to high, and beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until glossy and stiff peaks form.
- Option 1 - Drop meringue into eight mounds on prepared baking sheets. Using the back of a spoon, shape meringue into nests, roughly 1 inch high and 4 inches wide.
- Option 2 - Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe eight 3-inch disks on the baking sheets, then pipe around the edge of the disks to create 2-inch-high sides.
- Place in the lower part of the oven and bake for 2-3 hours, or until the meringues are dry, their centers aren’t sticky, and they are easily lifted from the parchment paper with their bases intact.
- Turn off the oven and, without removing, let meringues cool completely for at least one hour, or overnight.
- Meringues will keep for several days in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Fill shells with assorted berries. Garnish with mint, if desired.
- Optional: Fill meringues with a scoop ice cream and dribble chocolate sauce on top
- Serve immediately.