This happens every year. I plan and plan and plan for halloween night as if it will never come, and then all of the sudden in creeps up on me in a heartbeat. At this point in the month, I usually still don’t have a costume and have reached full panic mode. And, almost every year, without fail, I don’t figure out what I am going to wear until the evening of Halloween. When I was a kid, that usually meant digging through my costume box and putting something together last minute. Hence why one year I thought I was hilarious and went trick or treating as an “Chinese queen bumble bee” because I wore a kimono, bumblebee wings and a tiara…. Not my finest hour in the costume department – or in the politically correct department, either…
This year I wanted to avoid the scramble, so I picked a costume from one of my favorite theme parties from college (aka last May) – which means I will be going as a rock star groupie. Done and done. I also have class all week, so having to run around after a long day looking for a costume is just really not in the cards for me at this point.
My second option if I changed my mind about the rock star bit was George Washington (even though I’m pretty sure my sister did it one year – and totally nailed it). – but I didn’t save enough toilet paper rolls, so I’ll have to save that for 2015 (fingers crossed!) Since I have had my costume technically in order since May, I’ve been able to focus all of my attention on all the treats I’ve been wanting to make; and I’ve been wanting to make these meringue bones for a while. They are conveniently low fat, super light and they literally melt in your mouth.
I was so excited when we learned how to make them in culinary school. We learned the most basic and traditional method, which i’m pretty sure isn’t how my mom has made them at home, but I loved the minimal ingredients they required. You only need egg whites and sugar. You can add vanilla for flavor, which I did, but it isn’t really necessary. It takes a little patience and you definitely need a thermometer of some sort, but you feel so accomplished when they are finally finished. It’s also amazing how many you can make just from one small recipe. (that’s where are the science comes in – the power of the egg is pretty unbelievable. There are so many things you can do with just an egg – it’s actually amazing)
I’m also gonna miss my fun holiday decorations….I wonder how long it will take me to take the bats down after Halloween is over…
- Swiss Meringue
- 200 g Egg Whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
- ½ teaspoon clear vanilla extract (optional)
- (recipe may be doubled)
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- 4 tablespoons water
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F.
- In a large heat proof bowl, mix together the egg whites and sugar.
- Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir constantly until the sugar egg mixture reaches 130 degrees F.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and using hand mixer, beat the egg whites and sugar on high until stiff peaks form and the bowl is room temperature.
- Scoop the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe your shapes onto a Silpat or parchment paper.
- Bake the meringues for about an hour and a half to 2 hours, checking frequently to make sure they do not achieve any color. Turn off the oven when you think you have reached your desired consistency and let them cool completely in the oven before removing.
- In a small sauce pan, pour the water, frozen raspberries, and water and place over medium low heat. Allow the raspberries to defrost and the sugar to melt. Stir constantly until it forms a jelly like consistency - about 5 minutes. Remove from heat to avoid burning and bring to room temperature.
Looks awesome for Halloween! But delicious for all year long! I love meringue cookies! I bet they taste so good with the raspberry. Pinned!
I just did the raspberry for fun and it’s actually SO delicious that I want to incorporate it into the next ones I make somehow. Like a swirl or something. Let me know if you try them!