Coffee Recipes – Coffee Meringue Kisses

Most people are familiar with meringue as the light, crispy/gooey topping on a lemon meringue pie, but there’s so much more to the delicate egg-white treat. When you add brewed coffee to meringue, the end result is a melt-in-your-mouth treat that starts out crispy and ends up as a pure kiss of coffee flavor.

You may have heard horror stories about making meringues, but it’s really not as difficult as people make it out to be. There are a few key things to keep in mind:

• Your beaters, bowl and spatula must be scrupulously clean. Even the smallest bit of grease or fat can make your meringues grainy.
• Copper bowls work best for whipping egg whites — but they’re not a necessity. Use stainless steel or glass bowls. Avoid plastic bowls or anything porous.
• Separate eggs when they’re cold. Whip egg whites when they’re warm.
• Separate each egg separately to avoid even a drop of egg yolk.

Coffee Meringue Kisses

Ingredients

• 6 egg whites, room temperature
• 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 1/4 cups superfine white sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp espresso, brewed as below

Equipment

• Espresso maker or
• Saucepan and cloth coffee filter
• Metal or glass bowl
• Electric mixer
• Parchment paper
• Pastry bag with piping tip
• Cookie sheet

Prepare the Coffee

This recipe requires very strong, intense coffee because you have to use so little of it. If you have an espresso machine with a double filter basket, fill it with a double dose of coffee but pull a single shot to make double-strength espresso.

If you don’t have an espresso maker, add 1/2 cup of finely ground coffee to 1 1/2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Bring the coffee to a simmer and remove it from the heat. Stir for 15 to 20 seconds and strain through a cloth coffee strainer or a drip filter.

If you want very smooth coffee without any acidic overtones, cold brew your coffee the night before. Mix 1/2 cup of finely ground coffee with 1 1/2 cups of cold water in a covered jar or pitcher. Stir it well to make sure all the coffee grounds are wet. Put the jar in your refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. Strain the mixture through a cloth coffee filter and discard the grounds. You can store the remainder of the coffee concentrate in a covered jar for up to a week in your refrigerator to use in other recipes or mix it with hot water to make coffee.

Make the Meringues

1. Preheat the oven to 275 F.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
3. In a small metal or glass bowl, whip the egg whites on high speed until they are foamy and light.
4. Sprinkle the egg whites with cream of tartar and salt and continue beating until the egg whites form soft peaks.
   • Hint: Stop the mixer. Lift the beaters out of the mixture. If the tips of the peaks droop over, you’ve got them just right.
5. Gradually add the sugar and coffee, alternating them, while beating. Make sure that each addition is fully incorporated before adding more.
6. Continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 5 to 8 minutes.
   • Hint: Stop the mixer. Lift the beaters. If the tips of the peaks stand up stiff and straight without drooping, the egg whites are ready.
7. Fit a star tip onto the end of a pastry bag. Fill the bag about 3/4ths full with meringue mixture.
8. Pipe out 1 to 1 1/2 inch stars onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until the meringues are dry to the touch.
10. Turn off the oven and leave the tray of meringues in the oven until the oven is completely cool, about an hour.
11. Store the coffee meringue kisses in an airtight container.

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