Meringues are a mixture of egg whites and sugar. Use 50 grams of sugar for each egg white. Whip the whites until still and gradually add sugar. You can warm the sugar but don’t melt it before adding.
To know how may whites you have in the container where you have been keeping whites (left over from using yolks for Hollandaise Sauce or some other recipes) in the fridge, you can weigh them (about 30g each), or make a hash mark on the container for every egg white you add.
To get the most shiny meringue add a pinch of lemon juice or cream of tartar – about 1/8 teaspoon for 4 egg whites. And add the sugar gradually. If you pulverize the sugar or use fine caster sugar this shininess will come more easily.
The hardest part is to get the meringue into the piping bag. We started by folding it over a tall water glass. Then two people finished the job. (above photo)
Meringues were piped into small hillocks onto parchment paper. They were going to be used as ‘mushrooms’ decorating the serving plate of the Yule Log made for Christmas Eve dessert. And maybe turned into double-barrel cookies with a chocolate filling.
All were baked for about an hour in a 325 °F; oven.
These can be frozen, too.