Almond Meringues

There are certain food memories that stand out from my childhood, and meringues are definitely one of them. I remember my mom making these "beze" as we call them in Russian either on their own or to top off a delicious apple cake. Although I had watched her make them many times, I knew that they were quite a challenging dessert because of the timing when whipping the egg whites. The whites had to be beaten to stiff peaks but not overbeaten otherwise the meringues wouldn't puff up properly in the oven.

After using only yolks in my fruit tart with vanilla pastry cream I had a bunch of egg whites left over and I decided to try and make these meringues on my own. Unfortunately my mom was out of town and she could only offer me advice over the phone, and not visually. The challenge was even greater because I wanted to use my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer to make the meringues. Although the Kitchen Aid itself was easy to handle, and definitely less labor intensive, I have only used it a couple of times so far and am still getting used to it. This made me extra nervous because I didn't want to risk overbeating the eggs.

I made sure to follow all of my mom's directions precisely and carefully watched over the mixer like a hawk. The moment I thought the sugar was fully incorporated and I saw the telltale signs of glossy, white, stiff peaks I immediately turned off the mixer. The problem with meringues is that you can't know if you have overbeaten the eggs until its too late; luckily for me, my meringues puffed up very nicely in the oven.

Despite their pretty appearance, I knew I couldn't consider the meringues a success until my mom saw and tasted them. When she came home on Sunday I happily presented her with my creation and watched her bite in. She gave my meringues her seal of approval, claiming that they had the perfect crunchy outside yet soft and airy inside. I was so glad that she enjoyed them and was proud to have finally gotten over my fear of meringues.

Almond Meringues
Note: It is very important that the egg whites are at room temperature. Many sources recommend leaving the egg whites out on the counter for a few hours or even overnight so that they may age and whip as best as possible.

• 5 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups blanched slivered almonds

1. In a small skillet, toast the almonds in a little bit of olive oil over low heat until they are fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Pour into a separate bowl and set aside to cool.
2. Start to beat the egg whites on low speed until they become frothy, about 1 minute.
3. Increase the speed to medium and then gradually to high. Continue to beat until peaks start to form, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Once you see peaks, gradually add the sugar and continue to beat for another 2-3 minutes until the egg whites are white and glossy and form stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted.
5. Gently fold the almonds into the egg whites, handling the mixture as little as possible.
6. Scoop out spoonfuls of the meringue onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or wax paper and sprinkled with a little bit of cornstarch.
7. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes, or just until the tops of the meringues become slightly golden. Keep a close eye out because the color can drastically change in a minute. If using multiple baking trays make sure to rotate them halfway through. 
8. Once slightly golden, turn off the oven and and keep the meringues inside the closed oven for an additional hour. Afterward, remove from the oven and carefully transfer to a plate to serve.