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Sticky meringue

post #1 of 9
4/8/09 at 1:31pm
Thread Starter 
I made the following recipe this morning. The cookies were made according to the directions, but came out sticky on the bottom once they cooled. They adhered quite emphatically to the parchment paper. Here's the recipe, which came from a gluten-free website:

Meringue Drops
Ingredients:
3 egg whites beaten almost stiff
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 packages (6 ounces) chocolate chips
Chopped nuts (optional)
Directions:
To the beaten egg whites add sugar and vanilla. Beat until stiff. Gently fold in the chips. Drop by teaspoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350ยบ for 15-20 minutes. Watch carefully.

Should I have lowered the heat to, say 275F and baked them longer? Would this recipe have given me crisp, dry meringues?

3 egg whites
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (12 oz) bag chocolate chips
Line a cookie sheet with foil. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Beat the egg whites until stiff; gradually stir in the sugar and vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the foil. Turn the oven off. Put the cookies in the oven before you go to bed and they will be baked by the time you get up in the morning.

Thanks!
Mezz
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post #2 of 9
4/9/09 at 4:35pm
Both of the ingredient lists in those recipes are more or less identical, so I'm not sure that one would be better over the other. If it was really humid that day (or just humid in the kitchen), that could cause stickiness. Try baking them at the prescribed temperature and in Recipe 1 and then either turning the heat way down (or off) as in Recipe 2 to let them finish drying. Even if they were a little sticky, I bet they were still tasty! :lips:
Jenni
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post #3 of 9
4/9/09 at 7:56pm
Thread Starter 
The methods were very different; that's what I was aiming at. Yes they were tasty anyway. I let them sit out, uncovered, overnight. Not much change, but the dry part on the outside got dryer.

Next time I'll use recipe #2. Good think I didn't waste a lot of money!
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post #4 of 9
4/9/09 at 9:34pm
The second method is not how one traditionally makes a meringue... is it effective at all?
"If it's chicken, chicken a la king. If it's fish, fish a la king. If it's turkey, fish a la king." -Bender
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post #5 of 9
4/10/09 at 2:55am
Recipe contradics itself. Beginning says "beat egg whites till almost stiff , later says beat till stiff? Which is it? This could make a big difference.:bounce:
CHEFED
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post #6 of 9
4/10/09 at 3:50am
I don't see a contradiction in the recipe--the recipe author just forgot to say "beaten stiff" one place or the other. I doubt you stiffly beat beaten egg whites, yes? :)

The second method does work very well--this is the method you'd use if you wanted to make a meringue crisp all the way through w/o its browning at all; around here, they're called "forgotten cookies" for obvious reasons!
Jenni
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Pastry Methods and Techniques
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post #7 of 9
4/10/09 at 1:35pm

sticky meringues

I would have made Italian meringue and stirred in the choc chips. qahtan
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post #8 of 9
4/13/09 at 6:28pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your perspectives. I'll fiddle around with these and see what works best. My DH will gladly consume the trials! :D
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post #9 of 9
4/13/09 at 8:26pm
whip your egg whites and sugar over a double boiler untill warm and the sugar is melted. do this in the bowl you are going to whip them in (IE mixer bowl)

add the vanilla and whip on the mixer with the whip attachment until fully whipped - stiff peaks.

fold in the ingredients - chips and nuts ( try sliced almonds as they are less greasy.)

Put onto parchment on a sheet pan.

bake at the lowest setting for an hour then shut off for an hour or two.

Grease on the paper is going to break down the meringue-sticky.
not enough time in the warm oven will make them sticky and too much heat will caramelize the meringue.

HAPPY BAKING!
bake first, ask questions later.
Oooh food, my favorite!


Professor Pastry Artswww.collin.edu
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