Monday, December 18, 2006

Etc.

As my family unwraps Christmas ornaments and tinsel, brushing off eleven-and-a-half months of dust, it becomes time for unwrapping Christmas traditions as well. From my grandma's corn soufflé to the days devoted entirely to making tamales, I've noticed that most of our traditions have something to do with food. Perhaps this has something to do with the great talent for cooking that runs in my family...but probably not. We simply love to eat.

One recipe (that I hope will become a Christmas tradition) has made my mom almost famous this December. Numbers of people have asked for the recipe, but it's actually ridiculously easy. You can try it for yourself:

Mom's De-Classified Chocolate Chip Meringue Recipe

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Whip the three egg whites in a mixing bowl on "high" for about five minutes or until it has the consistency of shaving cream. If you are the type that is brilliant at improvising and improving recipes, do not improvise or add anything to the recipe just yet! It is very necessary for the egg whites to be thoroughly whipped without any other ingredients.

After your egg whites resemble a bowl of shaving cream, add the sugar and vanilla. This is where it gets fun. Dig through your cupboard and add about a cup of anything you wish. From crumbled up peppermint pieces to pecan chunks--all will taste good in these meringues. Personally, I prefer chocolate chips or M&M's* because any food tastes better with chocolate.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place dollops of meringue batter on a tray of aluminum foil (I don't recommend a greased cookie sheet, but the very adventurous can try it.) Turn off your oven before baking the meringues or else they will burn. Set the meringues in the warm oven for about 2 hours or until they resemble lightly browned, hardened shaving cream.

The recipe is so easy it's almost embarrassing to post, but believe me, it's delicious.


*This is not a paid advertisement for M&M's. Beauty from the Heart does not endorse M&M's or any of it's affiliates, but we are open to the idea of endorsing them if they pay in chocolate.

Labels: