could it possibly true? a delicious meringue?

so, for those who do not know, i love meringues more than anything else in the world. they are simple, especially with a stand mixer, delicious, and you can get lots of things done while they are baking. most often meringues are made with a superfine sugar, which dissolves quickly in the eggwhites. they can be flavored with pretty much any extract, and still taste fantastic. they lighten as they bake, so when food color is added, they turn light and pastel and beautiful. they are crisp on the outside and crack when you bite into them but soft and gooey on the inside, absolutely delightful. they are the basis of the australian/new zealand dessert pavlova, which is the greatest creation on this earth. i probably love them more than i love you, you tragic person who has stumbled upon this unfortunate collection of recipes, but i do love you, for you are reading this and in some way validating my writing it.

now for the recipe

ingredients

3 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or any other extract you so choose)

1. beat egg whites until stiff.

2. add cream of tartar

3. add sugar

4. add extract

5. beat until the meringue has stiff peaks (it will not want to move at all, thoroughly stuck in the mixer and will hold its shape)

6. place on a baking sheet (you can pipe it if you so choose, i prefer to just use spoons. it's not a beautiful final product but for now, i'm lazy and piping simply means more dishes to wash)

7. bake at 200 degrees for an hour and a half

8. turn off oven and leave the meringue in the oven overnight (note, if you need them that day, it is not a problem, you merely let them cool. they are not quite as fantastic as if you leave them be for the evening, but they will still be a smash)

the recipe makes about 10 - 12 large meringue cookies. decrease the baking time only by a little if you make the meringues smaller than 2-1/2 to 3 inches in diameter.

note. do not use a plastic bowl for mixing. plastic tends to hold the fat of things that you've mixed previously. so if you've ever made anything with butter your meringue will not come out. that's the problem with egg whites, they're terribly temperamental.

but look at these! how could you possibly resist!

also, i made some today with brown sugar instead. they are just as delightful. they are slightly more chewy, perhaps in need of a greater sugar to egg white ratio, but i shall continue to try to improve them.

a taste of childhood

the first thing i ever baked was chocolate chip cookies. i think this is pretty much what everyone makes first. my mom would always make chocolate chip cookies for people at work, for my class, for my birthday, for no particular reason. and i would always help out (so that i could lick the bowl obviously!) eventually, i started making them myself, and mom didn't bake anymore. these got me started in my ridiculous adventure to make delicious messes and put smiles on people's faces. they're my go to for when i'm tired and just need to bake something. and they were the first thing i ate when i got back from italy.

ingredients

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

dash of salt

2 cups of chocolate chips

1. cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar, (it should be thoroughly combined, to the point where you can't see the sugars. if there are chunks of butter, the cookies will not come out right)

2. add eggs and vanilla

3. add flour and salt

4. add chocolate chips

5. roll into 1 inch balls and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

for something a little more chocolatey, use 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 cup cocoa powder instead of 2 cups flour for double chocolate chip cookies. these are also good with white chocolate chips or peanut butter chips.

4. bake in the oven at

cenci!

so while i was in italy for 4 months, these were my favorite baked good. obviously i can't say that they were my favorite food, everything in italy is delicious (eg, truffle pizza, 4 cheese penne with truffle oil, pear and cheese ravioli, and oh so much gelato. i swear, if i hadn't walked everywhere, they would have had to roll me off the plane!) they're typically made for carnivale, but you can find them year round at a fornaio or a pasticceria, where of course you can find other amazing things. they are thin, crisp, messy and amazing.

ingredienti!

1 1/2 cups flour (farina!)

3 eggs (uova)

3 tablespoons butter (burro), the butter should be softened, easier to work with.

2 tablespoons sugar (zucchero, which is lots of fun to say!)

1 tablespoon milk (latte)

1 tablespoon vanilla (vaniglia i think. it's a weird word)

Dash o'lemon zest

combine all ingredients into a firm dough. knead like bread dough. roll out really really thin. cut into strips about an inch wide and 4 inches long. twist into what will look like ringlet curls. fry in oil (oil should be about 375 degrees) until golden brown (should only be about a minute in the oil). drain. cover in powdered sugar. enjoy!

these are relatively simple, delicious, and full of happiness and joy!