Showing posts with label meringue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meringue. Show all posts

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Meringue and Chocolate Surprise Cookies!

Today is reveal day for the Improv Cooking Challenge. This challenge is always fun, and this month the two ingredients we were required to use are Hearts and Flours! Aren't they just perfect choices for the month of February?! I made these Meringue and Chocolate Surprise Cookies, and I think they are a great example of everything heart and flour during this month of love!

Meringue and Chocolate Surprise Cookies
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Milk
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/4 cup Flour
2 Egg Whites
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1/2 cup Sugar
40 Milk Chocolate Kisses
Start with making your cookie base. 
Beat butter in a bowl on medium speed for 30 seconds.
Add 1/2 cup Sugar and beat until combined, scraping
sides occasionally. Beat in milk
and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. 
Beat in your flour, and combine well.
Roll out the dough to 1/4" thickness. 
Chill dough for 4-48 hours.
Cut heart shaped cookies from dough. 
Place on a baking sheet, and return to refrigerator.
Beat your egg whites, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, cinnamon,
and cream of tartar in a mixing bowlwith an
electric mixer on medium to high speed until   
soft peaks form.   
Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, 
beating on high about 7 minutes,.......
or until very stiff  
peaks form, and sugar is dissolved.
Spoon the mixture into a decorating bag, fitted
with a medium star tip.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. 
Take your baking sheet from the refrigerator.
Place a chocolate kiss in the center of each heart.
Using your pastry bag, 
pipe the meringue around each kiss.
Start at the center of the heart, and
 continue around and 
up until the chocolate kiss is covered.
Cook for 15-18 minutes, until meringue is
slightly browned. Cool on wire rack. 
Enjoy your Meringue and Chocolate Surprise Cookies!

We are visiting the following parties:
Networking Saturday

Thanks for joining me today, and don't forget to 
check out all the wonderful Improv recipes!

 

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Summer Days CupCakes

These cupcakes remind me of summer days when I was a little girl. My friends and I would lie on the grass, our arms spread wide, and gaze up into the sky. Billowy white clouds would pass overhead and we would talk and giggle about who or what the clouds looked like.  We would lay there and daydream for hours. Not a care in the world. Sometimes there would be a little breeze, and then a cloud would cover the sun for a minute or two, giving us much needed, but brief relief from the heat of the day. I hate to admit it, but there are times even now, when I would like to just pull over and stop for the day. Lie down on the cool green grass, and stare up at the sky. Well, these cupcakes take me there without getting grass stains, or having someone call the authorities about a strange woman hugging the grass. They evoke a wonderful memory. I hope they do the same for you!
 Summer Days CupCakes
Ingredients:
CupCakes:
Duncan Hines Butter Golden Cake Mix
3 Eggs
1 stick  Butter
Water

Meringue:
6 Egg Whites
Pinch of Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Sugar

We will make the cupcake batter according to the box this time
Usually, I like to doctor it like this. Both are good.
Add your mix to a bowl.
Crack your eggs in a bowl separate from your mix.
The eggs need to be cracked like this so that no shell
can ever end up in your mix. It is near impossible to get out
and so frustrating!! Don't put yourself through it.(I speak
from experience. I am ashamed.)
Add the eggs and the water.
Don't forget the butter.
Mix your batter according to the directions on the box.
Put your batter in the cupcake liners, and bake according to 
the directions on the box.

Let's make our meringue clouds!
Put your six egg whites in the bowl. 
Beat the whites until foamy.
Add the salt, vanilla, and cream of tartar.
Keep beating.
While the mixer is still on, start adding teaspoons of sugar, 
one at a time to the egg white mix. After each addition,
wait 30 seconds for the last spoonful to incorporate 
into the mix. Then add another teaspoon. This may seem like
a lot of unnecessary work, but you don't want
your meringue to be gritty from the sugar. After all
the sugar is added, continue to beat for 6 minutes.
Your mix should be stiff, glossy, and smooth. 
I am realizing what terrible pics I took of this project.
I apologize for that. Fit a pastry bag with a Wilton #5 tip, 
and fill the bag with the meringue mix. We are making clouds,
so just free form them onto cookie sheets covered
with parchment paper.
Remember, we are putting these on cupcakes, so 
don't go to big. The best thing about this is that there 
is no way to mess up a cloud. 
Keep piping them onto the cookie sheet until your sheet 
is full. You don't need much room between them. They
don't run. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 
1 1/2 hours until they are dry. Lift off parchment and store
in a plastic bag until we need them.

Let's make Buttercream Icing!

Buttercream Icing
(from Wilton)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
4 cups Powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Milk
Cream together the vegetable shortening and the butter.
Add the vanilla and powdered sugar.
 When it is totally mixed, add a little of the milk, and mix 
until the icing is fluffy. Put some of the white icing in
a small bowl, Only use a small amount.

Add some green coloring to the icing.
I used Americolor Forest Green.
I have always used Wilton Icing Color, but I love
the fact that the Americolor is so easy to dispense.
It simply drops out of the bottle, making it easier to control
the amount of color you want.
Start mixing. Use a spoon or sometime I use a
skinny craft stick.
Keep mixing until you get the desired results.
The icing will dry darker than it looks wet.
Make some blue icing for the sky. I used
Americolor Electric Blue. Then make a very small amount of
yellow icing for the sun. I used Wilton Lemon Yellow.
Buttercream frosting should be covered while you are using it
to prevent it drying out.
Let's Decorate!
Spread the blue icing~our sky~ on the cupcake,
leaving a little at the bottom that we will cover with
our grass.
Using Wilton tip # 233, pipe grass on the bottom portion
of the cupcake.
Make a half circle with the yellow icing.  Use Wilton tip #2.
Set up a little cup of water, a papertowel, and a small tip
paintbrush that has never been used. This is a good thing
to have in case of any mistakes, or to smooth down pointy
ends of icing.
Fill in the sun. Use your paintbrush to smooth the icing.
Pipe the suns rays. Start at the sun, and pull towards
yourself. At the end of the rays, if your icing is not smooth,
pat it down with the paintbrush.
Attach the clouds to the still wet blue frosting. If it
has dried, dab a little frosting on the back of the cloud
to help it stick.
There you have it!
Summer Days CupCakes!

Thank you for joining me!

If you have any questions about this project,
please contact me at
thefreshmancook@hotmail.com,
or leave a comment. I will answer you.