Swirled Creamsicle Meringues
Make 2 dozen cookies
3 egg whites, room temperature
3/4 cup (160 grams) sugar
half a vanilla bean, seeds scraped
large pinch of salt
large pinch of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon orange zest
Preheat oven to 200 and line two baking sheets with parchment. Combine egg whites, sugar and vanilla bean in a medium heatproof bowl, then set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water for 3 minutes. Stir the mixture occasionally to make sure the sugar is dissolved.
Carefully remove the bowl (I set mine on a dish cloth to absorb any water that might be hanging on the outside) and add salt and cream of tartar. Beat on high for 7 minutes, until soft, glossy peaks form and the mixture has slightly cooled. Add the orange zest and beat until combined.
Using a small clean paintbrush, paint three stripes of food coloring on the inside of a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Dab a tiny bit of the meringue on each corner of the baking sheet to make sure that the parchment stays in place when you are forming your little cookies of beauty.
Fill the bag with meringue and pipe small swirls on the baking sheet. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes or until the outside of the cookies are crisp.
Let cool for several minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
As if you needed an idea on how to enjoy these – my favorite is to crumble them over creamsicle sherbet. Double creamsicle!
