On July 4th this year I started to blog my family recipes and stories for my family and friends. I am in another country from most of you. It is not as good as sitting around a table and eating and yarning with you all but I feel a little closer to you documenting the stories and sharing my food this way, whilst taking you through the gates of our little farm for tiny tiki tours. AND along the way I discovered that my family is growing and I am making new friends and renewing connections with my old friends!. SO for you all .. (bow).. here is a 2 month blog birthday surprise. Just in time for your labor day desserts and pre-spring picnics in jackets and hatties. Drum roll please!! I believe TA DA is the appropriate word. I made you MERINQUES!
Marvellous Merinques. And they are so delish! Oh no. Poor you. What a mean gift. You cannot tap them or smell them or bite them to feel the crackle and then chew the melty bit inside. What a cruel woman I am. (chomp, chomp, lick fingers, swallow, smack of sugary lips).
However all is not lost. I do not have to smash them flat and send them in a card for you. I will show you how to make them. And when you make an enormous mess, crunching your way through them, you can sing happy blog birthday, celi. Now keep in mind that my mother spent years perfecting making merinques. So we must be respectful. Solemn faces please. Like me she had a gas stove, but she found a way and I will share it with you. And I heard a few of you have been bemoaning your fate at having an electric oven but the good news is merinques cook better using dry electricity.
Now this has been a heavily guarded secret family recipe (though not as heavily guarded and secret as the pavlova)- so, ssshh, don’t tell anyone.
They are remarkably easy and very fast in the prep.
- 2 fresh egg whites
- 4 oz (1/2 cup sugar) (pushed through a sieve)
- 1 tsp baking powder.
I told you they were simple. That is your total ingredients list!
Whisk egg whites until fluffy and proud. 
With beater still going strong – trickle the sugar in as slowly as you can, no – even slower than that – add half the sugar and beat until peaky. Mix the baking powder with the last of the sugar and slowly FOLD this in. 
You are adding air. Now with a teaspoon and a twist to get that dear little peak, pop little meringues onto a buttered and floured baking (cookie) sheet. 
Into the oven at 250 for 10 minutes then turn down to 150 for one to two hours (if they start to brown turn the oven down some more), until they move across the sheet when you push them and are hard on the outside. Then turn the oven off. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR AGAIN. Leave to cool in there. When the oven is quite cold you can retrieve them, in an electric oven you can leave them in overnight!
I so look forward to seeing what you eat these little darlings with. They are wonderful with all kinds of desserts. But for me. I eat them with freshly whipped, heavy, whole, decadent, real, unsweetened whipped cream, (from a cow) using nothing but my sticky fingers and drinking a glass of cold fruity Sangria with lots of lemon from Kay. See summer is not coming to an end! No more of that talk!
Now, these are simple, but every oven will cook differently so sometimes you need to tweak the times and temps. But always turn off at the end and leave in there to cool. They store very well in a sealed container, or lovely glass jar.
Have fun. Have a great weekend.
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
59 responses to “mama’s easy peasy party recipe”
You are an incredible cook. i love baking too
Welcome Fifi, bet you have some lovely recipes too! c
Love the little curls on the top, I’m not a big meringue maker but I’m intrigued too by the baking powder – Happy Birthday Cecila! I’m so enjoying your blog – can’t keep saying that, can I ? 😀
I thought the little curl were so dear, zeb. So sweet how they hold their original shape! I am loving that you are enjoying popping in. Are you and dog off for another walk today? c
I did not know you were only blogging for two months!!! Happy two months!! I love meringues and this recipe looks delicious and those meringues are beautiful!! I also love the pictures!
Oh Thank you Ambrosiana, yes it has not been too long that I have been in blog world but i love it. !
Oh, those Merinques look absolutely divine. I wish I could have one right now. And I’m so happy you loved the Sangria recipes. This is such a summer drink. And I won’t think of saying the end of summer 🙂
Well Done Kay, No bringing up the bad W word. We will sip our summer drinks and just BE summery!! c
I have a near similar recipe and its a cookie. Actually its a popular cookie in the Philippines called pasencia its actually meringue flavoured cookie.
Excellent. Well I look forward to seeing that recipe on your blog page! Pasencia makes a pretty sound when you say it. I look forward to that. thank you c
Seems they are so delicious, dear Cecilia and the last photograph so beautiful. Thank you, I hope you have a nice weekend, with my love, nia
Oh Nia, thank you, they are delicious I hope you get to try them.. c
I love meringues – we usually serve them with whipped cream and fresh berries. They will be a perfect dessert for this weekend!
That is so true,they will be great with whipped cream and nice tart berries, lovely.. c
Beautiful photos. I haven’t had real meringues for decades.
Thank you Annie, i love your wandering packet of porridge. i wonder where you are today c
Hi Cecilia. Firstly, thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind words. What a fab blog you have. I have really enjoyed reading your stories and looking at your amazing photos. Looking forward to the next installments.
Regards Florence .
Thank you florence, I still love your puppet! c
I make a LOT of these, sometimes piped and other times just spooned onto the tray!
Aren’t they great. Everyone loves them.. c
Those meringues are beautiful. I am a huge fan of pavlova. The large meringue disc you cover with whip cream and any other delicious toppping you enjoy — chewy soft center, crunch little bits on the outside. Fabulous.
Oh I LOVE pavlova too. Maybe I should post that page this week, alli.. thank you for the reminder!! c
My wife loves merinques, so I’m going to have to hide this post from her or I’ll be in the kitchen making them! 🙂
Oh go on Glutton. they are so easy, just turn the game up so you can hear it from the kitchen! c
[…] The meringue rule: Turn the oven off after 45 minutes and allow The Pav to cool IN the oven. Do Not open the door, […]
My Grams always does this on her pies, and when I was working at a place where we had a Christmas party about 7 yrs back, I decided to make my first chocolate pie with the meringues on top. I for one thought it was good…. my family said it was gross LOL. My coworkers didn’t know me well enough to tell me what they thought, so I figure gross hehe. It was too much constant stirring at the stove, etc. etc. I will not do pies again. I love baking, but I truly hated making the pie!!! hehe.
I have never made a chocolate pie either.. ! c