A meringue recipe for the Passover / Pesach festival will add a sweet flavor to any Passover / Pesach meal. Many meringue recipes exist, but the basic meringue recipe remains simple to make. A meringues recipe can be high in fat, but the following meringue recipe keeps the overall fat amount down, in other words, it is a low-fat meringues recipe.

What is a meringue? Meringue is a type of dessert or confection made from whipped egg whites and caster sugar. The egg whites are whipped until they form stiff peaks, and are then combined with the sugar. The meringues are then baked at a low temperature and only until the tips are a light or golden brown. Meringues are often flavoured with a small amount of essence, for instance, almond or coconut. They are very light and airy and extremely sweet. Meringue can also be a dessert topping baked from a mixture of stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar that is spooned or piped on top of sweet pies or into small shapes that is then baked at a low temperature until it is crisp, or a shell that is made of meringue and filled with fruit or ice cream. The word "meringue" is French in origin (méringue) and the meaning is uncertain. One claim has it that the word "meringue" derived from the town of Meiringen, Switzerland, because the first meringue was produced in Meiringen around 1600. Meiringen also boasts the record for producing the largest meringue in the world. Made of 2,000 egg whites and 250 pounds of sugar, it measured 82 inches long, 28 inches wide. Whoever ate that meringue now occupies a fair amount of airspace.

The following meringue recipe is a spicy version and is also a healthy meringue recipe as on the whole, it is low in fat, despite the relatively high percentage of calories being from fat.

Spicy Meringues Recipe

2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 1/2 cups finely chopped toasted walnuts or chopped dates (see note below)

Instructions for the Spicy Meringues recipe:

  1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius or Centigrade).
  2. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
  3. Mix cinnamon, allspice and sugar; add by tablespoons to the egg whites while beating.
  4. Beat until stiff but still shiny.
  5. Fold in walnuts.
  6. Drop by measuring teaspoonfuls onto a nonstick baking sheet or one that has been lined with parchment paper.
  7. Bake 1 1/4 hours; turn off the oven, open the door slightly (secure with a wooden spoon), and allow the cookies to cool in the oven overnight.
  8. Store in a tightly covered container.

Yield: 55 to 60 cookies.

Note: If you are using dates, select soft whole ones from the produce department.

Packaged diced dried dates get too hard during the hours in the oven.

Nutrition Information Per Cookie (made with walnuts): Calories: 26; Fat: 2 grams (including 62 percent of calories from Fat); Saturated Fat: 0.1 grams; Cholesterol: no cholesterol; Fiber: 0.2 grams; Sodium: 2 milligrams.


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