Fanciful Fridays: Merenguitos - Meringues

It's Friday, so I figured we should make a dessert to get the weekend started. Merenguitos are one of my Tia's all time favorite desserts. I made merenguitos for the first time last December a few days before her wedding and they were devoured within seconds at a family gathering. I had never attempted to make them, because everyone always said how difficult they were to make especially with the humidity in Florida. I had never seen anyone make merenguitos. As my grandmother would say, why spend so much time in the kitchen making merenguitos, when you can buy a bag of them for 99 cents. I was surprised that my first batch turned out well and were actually simple to make. All it takes is time. I suppose my punk will have a couple when she gets home from school today.

Don't' be intimidated by them. All you need is two egg whites, 1/2 cup of sugar, and a mixer.

It is easier to separate the egg whites while the eggs are cold. Place the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl and let the egg whites come to room temperature (about 30 minutes).

With your mixer, beat the egg whites for about a minute until they get frothy. Then, with the mixer running slowly add the sugar and keep mixing at a medium high speed for 7 to 10 minutes.

You will then have stiff peaks.

Preheat your oven to 200º F. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. You can either use two spoons or a pastry bag to form the merenguitos. Today I decided to use a spoon and make my merenguitos a bit rustic looking.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 2 hours. Do not open the oven door for the first half of the baking time. I rotate the baking pan after 1 hour.

Turn off the oven and leave the merenguitos in the oven with the oven door slightly ajar so that the merenguitos can finish drying out.

Enjoy!

MERENGUITOS - MERINGUES

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar

Preparation

1. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute.
2. Slowly add in the sugar while you continue to beat the egg whites on high speed. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form, 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 200º F.
4. You can either mound the meringue onto the baking sheet using a spoon or you can use a pastry bag to pipe the meringue.
5. Bake the merenguitos for about 2 hours. Rotate the pan after one hour.
6. Turn off the oven and open the oven door a crack and leave the merenguitos in the oven for at least one more hour to dry out.