Mint Meringue Kisses

You may recall me talking about the DailyBuzz Food Festival that I attended in San Francisco this fall.  Along with eating great food and staying in the scariest hotel known to man I met some pretty freaking fantastic bloggers.  Among those is Stephanie from Life Tastes Like Food.  She is the sweetest thing and she is doing something even sweeter for her friend and fellow food blogger.

Stephanie wrote me a few weeks ago that she is hosting a holiday bake sale auction for her Lori who has had a very difficult time with her health.  Fifty percent of The Holiday Auction proceeds will go directly to Lori and the other 50% will go to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society but there is an option to donate 100% to Lori.  

To bid on my Mint Meringue Kisses or any of the other goodies (ahem, you can bid on cookbooks signed by Bakerella and Smitten Kitchen--NBD), you can visit The 2012 Food Blogger/Reader Holiday Auction page.  

Start by adding egg whites that have been sitting out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add cream of tartar

And salt

Mix until soft peaks form.  The recipe I was following said "tips curl" and that is so true, follow that rule of thumb.

Slowly incorporate the sugar while on high speed

Until stiff peaks form or "tips stand straight" as you can see, these are the tips standing straight.  It will be pretty and glossy.

Add in the mint extract.  Yes, it is really in there.

And green food coloring

Place into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

Pipe onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.  They can be closer together than this, they do not expand.

Look at those little cuties.  Okay, so this is where the patients comes into play.  You bake them at 200 degrees for 60 minutes.  Then, you check to see that they look dry and if they do, you shut the oven off and let them sit in there for another 60 minutes.  So, if you are making these with other Christmas cookies, make these last otherwise you are waiting for two hours.

Once the cookies are fully cooled in the oven, get to work on the dipping chocolate.  Add some chocolate chips and coconut oil or vegetable shortening into a microwaveable bowl.  Pop it in, in 30 second intervals.  Stir after every 30 seconds.

When melted, carefully dip the bottom of each kiss.  This is kind of tricky since they are so delicate.  I ended up putting them in with my hands then removing them with a fork.  I broke too many doing it with just my hands.

Let them harden on wax paper.  I actually put them outside for a bit. Ah the benefits of living in Minnesota.  For the person who wins these on the bake sale, I'm making you freshies and I will not put them outside, they will go in the freezer.  Just sayin' : ) 

Seriously so cute and festive.

Airy, crunchy with a hint of mint and kiss of chocolate.  I think you should bid on these and save your time : ) Here is the link again: Mint Meringue Kisses. 

Mint Meringue Kisses 

4 egg whites at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
8 drops green food coloring
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil or vegetable shortening

Start by preheating the oven to 200 degrees.  Also, prepare your baking sheets with either parchment paper or a Silpat mat.  Set aside for now.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature egg whites, cream of tartar and salt.  Whip on high speed until soft peaks form or "tips curl."  Put back on high speed and add sugar slowly, about a tablespoon at a time until hard peaks or "tips stand straight."  Once this happens, add the food color and stir to combine again.  Scrape the sides and whip until everything is the same shade of green.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, scoop the mixture into the bag.  Pipe on to the parchment paper/Silpat Mat.  You can put them pretty close together since they do not spread.

Bake for 60 minutes.  At 60 minutes, check to see if they look and feel dry.  If so, turn off the oven and let them cool in the oven for 60 minutes with the door closed.

After 60 minutes, take the chocolate chips and pour them into a microwavable bowl.  Top with the coconut oil or vegetable shortening.  Pop in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time removing each time to stir until fully melted.

Dip each of the bottoms of the meringues in the chocolate and remove with a fork.  Let cool/harden on wax paper.  To speed up the process place in a freezer to harden.

Enjoy!

Recipe from: Better Homes and Gardens.