Meringue Snowflakes Recipes

SPARKLY MERINGUE SNOWMEN

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 200°. Add cream of tartar 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. Fold in extract., Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag or in a corner of a food-safe plastic bag; insert a #12 round tip. Transfer meringue to bag. Pipe snowmen about 4 in. tall, 2 in. apart, onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Decorate with black nonpareils and orange sprinkles. Bake until firm to the touch, 80-90 minutes., Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

DELICATE ICING SNOWFLAKES

Steps:

• Beat powdered sugar, meringue powder and water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until sugar is moistened. Beat on high speed 5 to 7 minutes or until very glossy and stiff peaks form.
• Place icing in decorating bag with #10 tip. Or place icing in strong plastic bag; cut off a tip from one corner of bag. Keep damp paper towel over tip when not in use to prevent icing from hardening.
• Cover cookie sheet with waxed paper or cooking parchment paper. Enlarge or reduce patterns (use your browser's search to find and print snowflake patterns); slide patterns under waxed paper. Trace patterns by piping on frosting, tracing longest lines of pattern first. Use a small paintbrush dipped into water to smooth any irregularities, working on each snowflake as it is piped. For candles, draw snowflakes freehand or use toothpick or pin to etch design before piping icing.
• Lightly brush entire snowflake with water; immediately sprinkle with glitter (use only edible glitter or sugar if snowflakes are to be eaten). Let dry; remove from waxed paper. To hang as decorations, attach nylon thread to one end.

MERINGUE SNOWFLAKES

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a medium bowl.
• Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.
• Draw six 3-1/2-inch circles on each sheet of paper or foil.
• Set aside.
• FOR MERINGUE:
• Add cream of tartar and salt to egg whites.
• Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks forms (tips curl).
• Gradually add the 1/2 cup superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form ( tips stand straight) and sugar is nearly dissolved.
• Transfer meringue to a decorating bag fitted with a 3/8-inch round tip.
• Pipe snowflake shapes on top of circles on paper or foil.
• Sprinkle with the decorating sugar.
• Bake all of the meringues at the same time on separate oven racks for 10 minutes.
• Turn off oven; let meringues dry in oven with door closed for 1 hour.
• Lift meringues off paper or foil.
• Transfer to wire racks; cool completely.
• Makes 12 meringue snowflakes.

ROYAL ICING SNOWFLAKES BY ROSE LEVY BERANBAUM

Steps:

• 1. In a large mixing bowl, place the egg whites and sugar and beat, preferably with the whisk beater, at low speed, until the sugar is moistened. Beat at high speed until very glossy and stiff peaks form when the beater is lifted (5 to 7 minutes). the tips of the peaks should curve slightly. If necessary, more powdered sugar may be added. Keeps 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Rebeat slightly. TO MAKE YOUR ROYAL ICING USING MERINGUE POWDER INSTEAD OF EGG WHITES AS DIRECTED ABOVE: Replace the egg whites with 3 tablespoons of meringue powder and 3 fluid ounces (or 6 tablespoons) of warm water; this is approximately the amount of water contained in the eggs. Proceed as for basic Royal Icing. Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature. Rebeat slightly.
• 2. Scrape the icing immediately into the prepared decorating bag and close tightly so that the icing does not dry. When not piping, keep the tip covered at all times with a damp towel. Place the templates on a counter and place round pieces of parchment paper (about 6" in diameter) on top of them. Tape them to the counter in a few places so that they do not slip while you are piping the snowflakes. Follow the outline of each template. First pipe the long 'legs' of the flake, starting at the outside perimeter and stopping at the center. Use the the paintbrush, dipped in water, to smooth and irregularities in the icing. Remove the tape and slip out the template to use for other snowflakes.
• 3. When all the snowflakes are piped, brush one at a time with the beaten egg whites and sprinkle each immediately with about 1 teaspoon of the crystal sugar. Allow the snowflakes to dry for at least 24 hours before removing them from the parchment.
• 4. TO REMOVE THE SNOWFLAKES FROM THE PARCHMENT: Hold the snowflakes on a flat counter, allowing small sections to extend over the edge. Support the snowflake with a broad spatula while you pull the parchment down and away from the extended section. A VERY THIN spatula or pancake turner also works if carefully slipped under the snowflake.
• 5. STORE: in an airtight container, between sheets of wax paper, at room temperature and low humidity. Keeps indefinitely at low humidity.