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Meringues
What greater pleasure than a mouth-watering dessert that isn't so laden with calories that you cringe when you climb on the scale the next day? Let luscious spring fruit like strawberries, rhubarb and pineapple be your springboard to light desserts.
Tips:
Start with a base that is inherently low fat, like meringues or angel cake or fruit salad or sorbet.
You can just about put anything you want in meringue, just because they're so neutral in flavor -espresso, chopped orange zest, ginger, cinnamon. You can also put cocoa powder in for that chocolate flavor without the fat.
Use fruit as a garnish or a sauce or both. Try preparing fruit in different ways, like poached or sauteed, as well as fresh.
Recipes:
Chocolate Meringues
Ingredients:
1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large eggs)
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300-degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment or wax paper.
With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt on high speed until soft peaks form.
Continue mixing on high speed while adding 1/2-cup of the sugar. Add the remaining sugar by the tablespoon. Beat for another one to two minutes, until the mixture is stiff and shiny. Gently fold in the cocoa powder until just combined.
Drop by the spoonful onto the cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly with the back of a spoon.
Bake until meringues are firm and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Let cool.
Recipe makes 36 cookies.
Nutrition information per cookie:
Calories: 24
Fat: 0g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 1mg
Sodium: 7mg
Carbohydrate: 6g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 0g
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Walnut Meringues
Ingredients:
1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large egg whites)
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300-degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment or wax paper.
With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt on high speed until soft peaks form.
Continue mixing on high speed while adding 1/2-cup of the sugar. Add the remaining sugar by the tablespoon. Beat for another one to two minutes, until the mixture is stiff and shiny.
Drop by the spoonful onto the cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the meringues evenly with the chopped walnuts.
Bake until pale golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool.
Recipe makes 36 cookies.
Nutrition information per cookie:
Calories: 32
Fat: 1g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Sodium: 7mg
Carbohydrate: 6g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 1g
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Macaroon Meringues
Ingredients:
Meringues
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
8 egg whites
2 tsp almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 oz toasted coconut
Directions:
To make the Meringues:
Preheat the oven to 200-degrees. Line two baking sheets with
parchment and trace 3-inch diameter circles on the paper.
Combine the sugar and corn starch.
Put the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and
beat on High until they foam. Slowly add the sugar
mixture and almond and vanilla extracts while continuing
to beat. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in toasted
coconut.
Put the meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch
tip and pipe meringue into the traced circles in a tight
spiral, filling the circles. Smooth with a spatula.
Bake until dried, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. If the meringues
begin to brown, reduce the heat to 150-degrees. Turn the oven
off and leave the pans on the rack to cool and finish
drying overnight.
2nd Day:
When cool, trim 1/2-inch from the diameter and flatten the
top of the meringue discs with a knife so the meringues
will be flat when stacked.
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Butterscotch Meringue Cookies
Ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg whites, room temperature
1-1/2 cup extra-fine granulated sugar
3 cups slightly crushed cornflakes
1 cup (6 ounces) butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Directions:
In medium bowl, add salt and vnailla to egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually and continue beating until stiff peaks are formed.
Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Fold in cornflakes, butterscotch chips and pecans. Drop by scant teaspoonfuls on well-greased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven eight to ten minutes. Cool briefly on cookie sheet before transferring cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe makes 2-1/2 dozen cookies.
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See also, on our Sister Site, FitnessandFreebies.com:
Peppermint Meringues Recipe
Angel Meringue Candy Recipe
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