Best Meringue Trees Recipes

FESTIVE MERINGUE CHRISTMAS TREES

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 200°. Add vanilla, cream of tartar and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff glossy peaks form, about 7 minutes. Tint with green food coloring and mix thoroughly., Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag; insert a large #828 open star tip. Transfer meringue to bag. Pipe 2-in.-diameter tree shapes 2 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets; top with sprinkles and a star nonpareil. , Bake until firm to the touch, about 3 hours. Turn off oven and open door all the way; leave meringues in oven until cool. Remove meringues from parchment. If desired, sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

MERINGUE TREES WITH SNOW

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat together the egg whites and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. While beating, add the confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
• While the mixer is still running, add the green food coloring and mix until combined. Put the meringue into a disposable piping bag fitted with a large star piping tip. Holding the bag at a 90-degree angle to the baking sheet, pipe a large star and then two smaller stars on top to create a tree; repeat until all the meringue is gone.
• Bake until the meringues are no longer glossy and feel light and dry when picked up, about 1 hour.
• Open the oven for a few minutes, then turn it off and shut the door. Leave the meringues in the oven until they are completely dry inside, about 2 hours.
• Once the meringues have cooled, dust the tops with confectioners' sugar to resemble snow.
• Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

MERINGUE TREES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
• Place 3 egg whites and granulated sugar in a mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water and heat, whisking occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form and bottom of bowl is cool to the touch, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in 1 teaspoon cornstarch and vinegar, then gel paste. Transfer meringue to a large pastry bag (with no tip).
• Add remaining 3 egg whites and brown sugar to clean mixer bowl set over pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to mixer and beat on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form and bottom of bowl is cool to the touch, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch and transfer to another large pastry bag (with no tip).
• Fit a third pastry bag with a large open-star tip (such as Ateco #829). Lay bag on its side; pipe white-sugar meringue to fill one side, then brown-sugar meringue to fill other side. Pipe small dots of combined meringue in corners of prepared baking sheets to secure parchment. Holding pastry bag at a 90-degree angle about 1/2 inch above parchment, pipe base layer of each tree, about 2 inches in diameter, in a swirling fashion. Lift bag straight up, yielding a "kiss" shape. Pipe a smaller layer on top, followed by an even smaller top layer to complete the tree. Be careful to hold the piping bag completely vertical as you work so that the trees don?t lean or fall over.
• Transfer sheets to oven and reduce heat to 200 degrees. Bake until meringues feel firm but still pliable and are not taking on any color, about 2 hours. Let cool completely on baking sheets on wire racks. Trees can be stored in a single layer (without touching) in an airtight container up to 1 week.