November 12th
2007
Who would have thought? This recipe includes a couple of firsts for me: Neither have I read the magazine in which I found this recipe in before - always 'thought it was kinda bland - nor have I ever used instant powder for jello, ever - and I could have sworn that I never would!
Preparing an eye catching jello dessert is dead easy, no rocket science, no secret sauce. Why would anyone consider using store bought instant powder for it? Probably laziness. You wouldn't find it in my shopping basket, so I thought, until I spotted a beautiful photo in said magazine showing a glas bowl filled with cute colorful meringue bites, using instant jello powder. Intrigued, on the spur of the moment, I had to try it and they turned out just like the magazine picture promised.
Tastewise they brought back childhood memories of my favorite candy store, where my friends Steffi, Kerstin and I were lining up after school to drop some pocket money for effervescent candies in all sort of crazy colors, not caring for their rather artificial flavor. That's just how these meringue bites taste - well, sweet with a hint of artificial flavor.
Of course now I'm thinking whether it'd be feasible to achieve a similar result - color-wise as well as consistency - with natural flavor, like, let's say raspberry syrup or dried raspberry powder? Blueberry juice should work, too, but what could be a suitable and tasty substitute for green ones? Thoughts?
Preheat your oven to 120°C (250° Fahrenheit). Use three little bowls to mix three teaspoons of instant powder for jelly with 50g of the white sugar, each at a time.
Prepare the differently colored stiff egg white mix one after another: In a larger bowl combine 2 egg whites with 1/2 teaspoon of white wine vinegar, beat with a whisk by hand or use your mixer of choice and gradually add one sugar mix. Finish beating as soon as the egg white is very stiff and creamy. Repeat procedure with the other egg whites.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper, then fill one of the colored stiff egg whites in a piping bag with a larger nozzle and pipe nice little dots (about walnut-size) onto the tray, leaving some space in between. Rinse and pad dry the piping bag before moving on to the next color.
Bake in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes when done with piping. Take out and carefully remove the bites from the parchment paper as soon as they are cooled down completely. Best stored in an airtight container.
Colorful meringue bites
Recipe source: adaptation of Kreativ Küche, 06/2007, p.72
Prep time: ~30 minutes, baking time: ~1 hour
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Ingredients (yields ~140 bites):
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150g white sugar
instant powder for cherry, lemon and woodruff jello, 3 tsp each
6 egg whites from large eggs
1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
How very pretty, they'd make a lovely small present wrapped in a delicate cellophane transparent bag! Indeed it would be great to receive equally nice results with natural ingredients, but if you don't eat them daily, the artifical flavor won't do any harm.
How funny! My grandmother used to make this very recipe with raspberry jello (this was in the American midwest). She made them a little bigger and added chocolate chips. They were my favorite dessert.
I found your site not too long ago and I've been umm...stalking it for your next post. While I am surprised at the post- ( I didn't think you would use artificial anything) I think the meringues are charming, and being the sugar-addict that I am, I think I shall like them just fine! -- Everything in moderation!
those are adorable. but I'll bet the natural flavorings would taste considerably better.
so cute !
I love it! So perfect for a baby shower or something girly like that.
How cute & girly!!! I've used reduced raspberry syrup for pink marshmallows, so I think it'd work for meringues, too. Maybe saffron for yellow ones? But I don't know what would do the green trick.
You could use pandan leaves/juice for the green one, I use it a lot to flavour and color pannacotta. It's not very strong tasting but very distinctive and goes well with sweet things. You can buy them at most asian supermarkets. I normally just blitz the leaves with a bit of water and strain out the bits of leaves. good luck!
Sweet! Great idea. I have yet to come across this magazine. Will definitely keep a lookout.
I do not know for green color, maybe some tea like mint or green tea.
I know spinach is good for getting green color, but I'm afraid it would affect the taste too much.
Maybe if you use baby spinach (some kine of puree or just water left after cooking) 'cause baby spinach is quite sweet?!
Sanja
Ummm.... a tiny drop of spinach juice, maybe? Not enough to give flavour, just enough to give taste? And a bit of lime peel for flavour?
Gosh, I'm not sure I can find Jello powder here, but your pictures make me want to go on a trek!
For green....I would go with Basil. My basil liquor (sweet) turned out good so I bet it would go good with meringues, too.
Hello Nicky, also a newcomer to your page, and, like Katia, been stalking for the next entry... about the green meringues: "Waldmeister" (woodruff, I'm told) is, after all, a plant - could there possibly be a "Bio" version of the green, artifical-tasting syrup of my childhood days?
Die sind ja niedlich. Kreativ wie immer. :-)
Kochblogger
green apple? I'm not sure how you would get the color but the taste would be great - just a bit sour would be perfect.
Sehr schön ;)
Those candies look adorable and delicious. I must give the recipe to my friend who still insists on making Jello; and while I am not knocking those who favor Jello I myself am not a fan. This treat would be a nice substitute for him to make.
Göttlich!
I love these cookies but never used vinegar in them. This one is bookmarked!
These are absolutely lovely!
these are so pretty!
too cute! meringues are my favorites. i wonder if the gelatin makes the egg whites easier to beat? anyway, these look adorable. i will definitely try!
I would use fresh mint leaves or maybe fresh frozen pea puree flavored with mint oil - who would know? I love the thought of green apple, you could color it with spirulina powder. Now THATs green!
my favourite meringues were plain vanilla with frozen raspberries pressed into them.
they bled during the baking time, sending streaks of juice through the meringues and leaving them crispy outside, but soft+chewy inside!
i really MUST make some soon.
Ooooh, if it wasn't going to be so stinking hot tomorrow, I'd be making this first thing in the morning! Definitely one for the christmas baskets this year...
Meringue & Jello, I couldnt imagine such a combination!
What about trying Waldmeister syrup for the green colouring?
I agree with the fresh mint for the green colour, but if you were thinking of more fruity flavours can I suggest that pineapple and mint go really well together and the pineapple may help keep the mint's colour through baking.
beautiful recipes,beautiful pictures,this blog truly IS delicious!!brava!!!
Sara, As I do love basil-lime sorbet, I'm sure I'd love Meringues with basil, too! And I already bookmarked your Basilcello, which sounds fantastic!
Hi Betsy, I'm sure there is! I've only used fresh (wilted, for the flavor) woodruff for a dessert, but can highly recommend working with this intense flavor. Maybe you want to check out my panna cotta recipe with woodruff?
Juji, ...and I MUST make them soon, too!!!
Ich habe das Rezept in einer anderen Zeitschrift gesehen und möchte es schon lange ausprobieren. Danke für die Erinnerung
Ich glaube die sind genau das richtige für Kinder! Optisch sowie vermutlich geschmacklich.
oh no~ i just posted about meringue bites. and confessed about all the things i did wrongly with them. not to mention how bad my piping skills were. and now to look at yours! >
oohh, it looks so beautiful and easy.
could you maybe attempt making some macarons and make it look so easy, so i can be motivated to try? Getting them sent over from La Duree is breaking my piggy bank!
Tina Lai, I'm not a big macaron lover, but one of my standard Christmas cookies is - almost - a macaron. Dead easy, I promise!
This remined me of the candy in Thailand; bigger size though!. When I was a kid I loved it a lot. This'll be a good Christmas gift. Thank you,
Those are beautiful!
Ymmmmmmm, so pretty I already want to eat the pictures.
hi nicky, i love your blog! I tried this recipe last night and it was great! Have a problem though, does it really get sticky after cooling? Mine was a bit sticky and chewy to the bite rather than the crunch of a meringue bite. Is it because of my tropical weather? Or is it because I didnt beat it to peakness perfection? Thanks a lot :)
dee, Humid weather is pretty bad for successfully baking meringue, I’m sorry to say ;( Some suggest substituting granulated sugar with confectioner’s sugar - can’t say for sure, though, I haven’t tried it myself. Good luck for your next batch!
Wow that does look beautiful...I think I will start cooking this now.
I love the cheery colors! I don't see why you couldn't use natural juices instead of the instant jellos, you probably have to use gelatin sheets though.