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Jell-O Meringues Cookies! Mounds of pillow soft meringue is whipped to perfection, enhanced with your favorite Jell-O flavor, and piped into pretty shapes! These Jell-O Meringues are fun to make and even more fun to eat!
It’s not quite spring, nevertheless, we have to face it: It is warming up, peeps. Spring is almost here. Finally!
*Holla Hands!*
This weekend we will spring forward and all will be right with the world.
We’ll strut out of work while it’s still light out, breathe in warmer air, observe the first signs of budding trees – And maybe, just maybe… Shave our legs. Not ready to pass a razor over your winter fur for fear you may break a blade? It’s cool, boo. I’m not judging you.
So the weather is changing and my mind immediately gravitates towards barbecues and summer co*cktails.
But first, flow with me: Let’s deal with this Easter situation. Real talk? I don’t really celebrate Easter in the traditional sense. On Good Friday I make habichuelas con dulce (sweet beans) – A traditional Latino Easter dessert situation. I make every effort to eat something meatless, and end up making fried chicken or something equally damming.
I like to joke that I gave up F**** for Lent. None given. To tell you the truth, I couldn’t even commit to that. I cared too much this month. In truth, I’m not a good Christian or Catholic, or even religious. I just try my best not to hurt people with my actions or the words that come out of my mouth.
Since my Moonbug is a true bubbly girly girl, I AM about the cutesy Easter life. In the commercial sense. Egg coloring, Easter dress wearing, cutesy Easter projects, and loads of jellybeans. All that stuff. And of course, Easter baking.
I had over a quart of egg whites in my fridge left over from last month’s chocolate takedown. I took first place People’s choice, by the way. Anyway I made tons of chocolate mousse and was left with a large container of egg whites. I decided to make meringues, but not just any ol’ meringues. I made meringues flavored with Jell-O powder.
I’m going to be real with you, I don’t eat Jell-O unless it’s spiked with vodka or tequila, followed by a nice dollop of whipped cream to take away the boozy sting. I couldn’t spike these meringues with vodka, ‘cause – You know, I have kids and in the U.S. feeding your kids booze is illegal.
The Moonbug and I baked three batches of meringue cookies in three Jell-O flavors – Strawberry Banana, Island Pineapple, and Grape, dropping a bit of gel color on mixes which did not achieve that nice pastel hue.
Meringue cookies are super straightforward: Egg whites + sugar. Salt and a little cream of tartar to stabilize those egg whites. In addition to the Jell-O powder I added vanilla extract. You whip it, whip it good ‘till you reach stiff peaks. The rest is gravy. Add the meringue to your piping bag and pipe it nice on a prepared cookie sheet. The meringues do expand a little. The spread is minimal. All good, homies.
I used large Ateco closed star tips of varying sizes to achieve the shapes and grape rosettes. I have no real piping skills, so don’t be intimidated by this. If I can do it, you can do it. I have faith in you.
One batch makes about 40 small meringue cookies. Tripling the batch gave me 120 meringue cookies. These rock with a crowd, so feel free to do the same. If you’re about the single batch, yet about the multiple flavor life, portion out your meringue and flavor each separately. I’d wait until the meringue has reached medium peak stage to portion these out. I find a hand mixer and bowls work best if you’re rolling in portions.
Bake at 200° Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes, or 35 or so if you piped larger shapes. Just make sure you don’t raise the oven temperature, otherwise your meringues will not retain a gorgeous pastel.
The flavors are super fun. I wish I had known about this situation sooner. They are sweet little sugar bombs enhanced with flavors you can never really find in nature. They sort of a taste like Laffy Taffy that melts in your mouth.
Kids and adults alike will love them. Mr. M.O.B. ate an amount I cannot disclose due to a non-disclosure agreement he had me sign. *eye roll*
So trust. These meringues are fun to make and carry with them a dash of whimsy. Plus they’re colorful and cute as hell.
And you can’t beat cute.
[purerecipe]
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Jell-O Meringues Cookies! Mounds of pillow soft meringue is whipped to perfection, enhanced with your favorite Jell-O flavor, and piped into pretty shapes! These Jell-O Meringues are fun to make and even more fun to eat!
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time25 mins
Servings: 40
Ingredients
- 3 ounces from about 3 large eggs Eggs whites, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- Scant 1/3 cup 5 tablespoons Jell-O powder
- a few drops of food coloring if desired
Instructions
Preheat oven to 250°Fahrenheit and line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium/high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt, and in a steam add the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to high and continue to whip until glossy and medium peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the vanilla extract, Jell-O powder, and food coloring (if using) and whip over high speed until the mixture forms stiff peaks, another 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.
Fit a piping bag with a round or decorative star tip. Now, place the piping bag inside a deep measuring cup and scoop Jell-O flavored meringue inside the piping bag. Give it a turn or two to seal shut.
Pipe meringue mounds onto prepared sheets of parchment paper leaving about 1 inch of space between each meringue cookie.
Place cookie sheets in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. More time will be required if your meringue mounds are larger - Anywhere from 35-45 minutes. When done, cookies should be dry to the touch and when lifted should remove easily from the parchment. My suggestion is to check at the 25 minute mark. If cookies do not remove from the parchment easily, check at 3-5 minute intervals.
Remove meringues from the cookie sheet and place in a wire rack to cool completely.
To store: Place meringues in a large airtight sealed container separated by squares of parchment. These cookies will last 3-5 days.
Makes about 40 cookies.
Notes: One batch makes about 40 small meringue cookies. Multiple batches = more cookies! These meringue cookies rock with a crowd, so feel free double or triple. If you’re about the single batch, yet about the multiple flavor life, portion out your meringue and flavor each separately. I’d wait until the meringue has reached medium peak stage to portion these out. I find a hand mixer and bowls work best if you’re rolling in portions.
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