Aniseed Almond Meringues Recipes

ALMOND MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225°F.
• Beat whites with a pinch of salt in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until they hold soft peaks. Add 1/2 cup superfine sugar a little at a time, beating, then continue to beat at high speed until whites hold stiff, glossy peaks, 1 to 3 minutes. Fold in remaining 1/4 cup sugar gently but thoroughly.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Put a small dab of meringue on all 4 corners of each sheet, then turn paper over, pressing on corners to adhere parchment to baking sheets.
• Spoon meringue into pastry bag. You will be making 4 lattice cookies on each sheet, so work in 1 quadrant for each: Pipe 4 (4-inch-long) diagonal lines, about 5/8 inch apart, then pipe 4 (4-inch-long) parallel lines diagonally across original 4 lines, 5/8 inch apart, to form a lattice. Make 3 more lattice meringues on same baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle half of almonds over meringues. Pipe 4 more lattice meringues on second baking sheet in same manner, then sprinkle with remaining almonds.
• Bake meringues in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until crisp and pale golden, about 1 hour total.
• Cool meringues completely on sheets on racks, about 1 hour, then carefully peel from parchment.

ALMOND MERINGUES

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. While beating, gradually add the sugar and then continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in the almond extract.
• Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a star pastry tip and pipe 1-inch meringues onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1-inch apart. Bake until the meringues are no longer glossy and feel light and dry when picked up, about 1 hour. Turn off the oven but leave the meringues inside with the door cracked open until the meringues are completely cooled and dry, about 2 hours more. The meringues can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

SPICED PRALINE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
• Spread the almonds out on a small rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Place 1/4 cup/50 g of the sugar in a small saucepan with the water and stir to combine. Cook over high heat for about 4 minutes, until it has turned a light golden brown; do not stir, just gently shake the pan to help the sugar dissolve. Add the almonds and cook for 1 minute, so the nuts are coated and the caramel turns dark, without burning. Pour the mixture onto one of the lined baking sheets and set aside until cool.
• Once cool, break the praline into smaller pieces, place in a food processor and process to form a rough powder. Remove from the machine, place in a shallow bowl and combine with the spices, orange zest and salt. Set aside.
• Spread the remaining sugar out on the second lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 7 minutes, until the sugar is hot. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 275°F/130°C. As soon as the sugar is out of the oven, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment in place and beat on high speed until they begin to froth up. Carefully add the hot sugar to the egg whites, 1 tbsp at a time, and continue beating for 7-8 minutes until the mixture is completely cold. At this point it should be silky and thick and keep its shape when you lift a little bit from the bowl.
• . Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Use an extra-large serving spoon to scoop up some meringue, and use another large spoon to help shape it into a rough ball the size of a large apple. Sprinkle some praline over half the meringue ball, then place on the baking sheet, repeat with the rest of the mixture, spacing the balls as far apart as possible, as they will increase in size.
• Place the meringues in the oven for 2-2 1/2 hours. Check that they are done by lifting them from the baking sheet and gently tapping to make sure the outside is completely firm and the center is only a little soft. Remove from the oven and leave on the baking sheet to cool.
• Storage
• These will keep for up to 10 days. If you are not hanging them on the tree, wrap them loosely in aluminum foil and keep at room temperature.

ALMOND MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and lightly flour cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar and keep whipping until the egg whites can hold a stiff peak, this will take about 5 minutes. Set aside about 1/2 cup of the egg whites. Add the lemon zest and cinnamon to the rest of the meringue, and fold in the almonds until everything is evenly blended.
• Drop mounds by spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Top each cookie with a smaller dollop of the reserved meringue.
• Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove cookies from the baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

MANDELMAKRONEN (ALMOND MERINGUES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl until stiff peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, while continuing to beat at high speed. Combine ground almonds and cinnamon in a bowl and fold into the egg white mixture with a spatula. Add more ground almonds if mixture is too runny.
• Use 2 teaspoons to place little mounds of almond mixture 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and baked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.

ANISE-ALMOND BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Mix sugar, melted butter, 3 eggs, vanilla extract and ground aniseed in large bowl. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir with wooden spoon until well blended. Mix in almonds.
• Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each dough half into 13 1/2-inch-long, 2 1/2-inch-wide log. Transfer both logs to prepared baking sheet, spacing apart. Whisk egg white in small bowl until foamy; brush over top and sides of each dough log.
• Bake logs until golden brown (logs will spread), about 30 minutes. Cool logs completely on sheet on rack, about 25 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
• Transfer logs to work surface; discard parchment paper. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on same baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes. Turn biscotti over; bake until just beginning to color, about 8 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

ALMOND MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Butter parchment. Beat egg whites in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in powdered sugar, almonds and lemon juice (meringue will deflate and will no longer be stiff).
• Drop meringue by level tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are pale golden around edges, about 25 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheets. Using metal spatula, carefully remove cookies from parchment. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container.)