I have a problem.
An egg white problem.
Turns out most of the treats I like to make (ice cream, cream pies, lemon curd, hollandaise, oh, and did I say ice cream?) use egg yolks. And I can never bear to throw out the egg whites, so instead I bag them, tag them, and stash them in the freezer.
The problem is, they just start to build. And I never seem to have any egg-white recipes to use them up. So after about 6 months (luckily I had the good sense to date them), they get tossed with the other frozen-and-forgotten things in the depths of our freezer (try as we might, we just aren’t freezer people).
I had attempted a fruit meringue before, by grinding up some freeze-dried fruit (not to be confused with dried fruit which will NOT work in this recipe) that I had leftover from the pixie stick project. Turns out strawberry isn’t such a great flavor in a meringue. Medicinal would be one way to put it kindly.
But my second try turned out much better. With blueberries and a bit of almond extract, the flavor is light and subtly fruity with fragrant almond undertones.
Whatever you do, don’t try these on a humid day. Unless you like sticky, chewy meringues. And make them in the evening, after all your other cooking projects are done for the day, that way they can sit in the warm oven overnight to dry out even further.
I still have partial bags of freeze-dried mango and raspberries, perhaps those will be next on my list to try as operation use-up-the-gosh-darn-egg-whites continues. Tell me I’m not the only one with this problem? What do YOU do with all of your egg whites?
Blueberry Almond Meringues
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup freeze-dried blueberries
3 large egg whites, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine 1/4 cup sugar and blueberries in a (clean!) coffee grinder, and pulverize until very finely ground. A food processor will also work but I’ve found a coffee grinder does a better job of creating a super-fine grind.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Slowly add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, followed by sugar and blueberry powder. Continue to beat until mixture holds stiff peaks and sugar is fully dissolved (if you rub a bit of the mixture between your fingers it should not feel gritty). Beat in almond extract.
Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, and pipe “kisses” onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 90 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and back to front after 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cookies sit in the oven for at least a few more hours or overnight to allow them to fully dry out.
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I have the same problem with egg whites- don’t want to toss ’em, don’t want to make an egg white omelette. Thanks for suggesting a better solution!
These are so pretty! I make “forget me” cookies, which also stay in the oven overnight – basically a meringue with milk chocolate chips and pecans or hazelnuts hiding inside. They taste best straight out of the fridge or freezer, which I bet these would too!
These are so cute! Love the photos! :)
How did I not know that egg whites could be frozen?! That’s a gamechanger for sure! I also always have a stash of eggwhites, though I keep them in a tupperware container and then after a week of telling myself to make macarons, end up dumping them down the disposal. I’ve never made meringues before, so this looks a lot easier than the whole process of macaronage!
Make light as air chocolate mousse! Melt 200g dark chocolate with 30g salted butter. Beat 4 egg whites with 80g sugar until stiff peaks are formed. Wisk 0.4 liter whipping cream until fluffy. Carefully mix half of the cream in the melted chocolate, then your egg whites and finally the second half of the cream. Refrigarate overnight. The best chocolate mousse recipe ever; that is why I have to deal with leftover egg yolks! (Sorry about grams and liters, I’m from Europe, though this should not hold you on making this ;-))
What beautiful little bits size meringues! I love the idea of adding freeze-dried fruit as well. Where do you get it from?
I too freeze egg whites and then I have a set of recipes that I use them for. These include angel food cake, macarons, macaroons, meringues of course, but also things like meringue topped jam bars and lemon meringue pie, dark chocolate beaconhill bitea, Swiss meeingue buttercream etc. Take a look here:
http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/58311/Tip—Freezing-Egg-Whites
I can give you the recipe for my family’s favorite dessert – my grandmother’s Angel Pie. Takes 6 egg whites……………. Here’s a layout I did with the recipe. I used to make with a hand mixer and last year I got a KitchenAid Pro. Wow What a difference to use the whisk in that thing. So high and fluffy and mouthwateringly smooth. Also, can use frozen strawberries or if I have fresh ones I mash them up a bit with some sugar. Let me know if you try it! I have a sweet family story that goes with it. http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=841636&title=angel-pie&cat=5867
Oh! I love meringues and have made them many times. Once I start, it seems like I can’t stop. There are so many options and flavors to try. I give them away to our friends. They should all be fat by now. LOL
My husband likes egg whites for breakfast and I don’t get to save much for other recipes. But when I can, meringues is by far my favorite. Love your recipe and the pictures are beautiful!
These look SOO good and I love the pictures!!
PAVLOVA! (chocolate is my favorite).
I too make a lot of ice cream and freeze the egg whites. Chiffon cakes and angel food cakes are great ways to use up leftovers. Rose Levy Berenbaum’s cake bible has great recipes – I have her lemon chiffon one on my blog :)
I keep and freeze the whites for future egg white omelettes…italian meringue frostings…angel food cake….and, of course, for simple meringue shells for Pavlovas or to accompany sorbet…so delicious…low calorie and fat-free….NEVER throw out egg whites…too sublime!!!
I have the opposite problem. My hubby eats egg white everyday and throw out the yolk. Everyday different kind of omelette or scrambled egg like roasted mushroom and onion with a bit of cheese or sautéed spinach, tomato and cheese. Chicken and cheese with salsa on top.
Dorie Greenspan’s Cafe Volcano Cookies are amazing. Please, please, please try them. You will love them.
These are adorable and look so delicious. Love the color.
We make angel food cake with our leftover egg whites. Yet these meringues look spectacular!
I have the same problem! I have made pavlovas and coconut macaroons, but neither has put a large dent in my stash. These are beautiful!!
This recipe looks great! I don’t typically have an egg white issue because I don’t bake often but I agree with the other readers about angel food cake and macaroons. I think they’d also be good in quiche. :)
Hello! First time to write in your blog :)
I do scrambled eggs with eggs white, tomatoes, onion, etc… really good!!
Want something more yummy? Try Oreo Cupcake from http://www.annies-eats.com, i am actually baking them today for the first time hihihi
I often make coconut curry meringues: 3 egg whites, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 oz. unsweetened coconut, 1 1/2 tsp good-quality curry powder, frehsly grated nutmeg. Pipe onto baking sheets and sprinkle with some lime zest. Bake at 200F 60-90 minutes.
I usually make several batches using different curry mixtures: I work at a spice shop and whenever I want to let people try our three different blends – Indian, English and Thai – these come in handy as you can compare the subtle nuances. They always get rave reviews!
I would do any of these recipes: http://journalofafrenchfoodie.com/2012/05/07/angel-cake/ (this one uses 12 egg whites!), or http://journalofafrenchfoodie.com/2012/10/09/macarons-citron-ou-chocolat-lemon-or-chocolate-macaroons/ (220g egg whites) and finally this one: http://journalofafrenchfoodie.com/2011/07/31/langues-de-chat-dessert-biscuits/, which is a biscuit so a good change from the meringue… I also made recently beautiful chocolate pots, which need about 6 egg whites, 320g dark chocolate, 20g cornflour, 50g butter and 70g sugar: melt the butter and chocolate, add the sugar and egg whites while stirring and finally the cornflour. Pour into ramekins and bake at 180C (350F) for 6 to 9 minutes. They stay gooey inside and they are simply gorgeous!
I usually make Swiss Meringue Buttercream with my whites. I have a bigger problem with the yolks, but I’m planning ice cream today to deal with my stash. The meringues look beautiful!
I usually end up with extra yolks because I like to make French Macarons with the egg whites. Luckily I can use the egg yolks for ice cream. It’s a win win!
I wish we could initiate a trade. I love angel food cake and always have leftover yolks!
I often end up making meringues with leftover egg whites but there no where near as pretty as yours.
THE most gorgeous meringues EVER!
I love freezing foods because it saves money and time. I freeze egg whites all the time. I should really make some of these to use them up!
Angel food cake!
This is superoriginal, I never saw blueberry meringues!
how about using them to make macarons?
Oh these are so beautiful… they could taste like mud and it would not matter! I would love to give these a try!
I have a grandson that would just go nuts over these. I tend to have more egg yolks though…we should live closer:-D
Great idea! They look really great. I didn’t know you can freeze your eggwhites, will remember that!
Those meringues have to be the prettiest ever! I’ve never had blueberry or almond in meringues–vanilla or chocolate are pretty much the choices around here–so I’m excited to give them a try!
I usually end up putting the egg whites on my face with a squeeze of honey and lemon for a homemade face mask. Quite thrilled to have this edible option (I’m not into Macaroons). Plus, it’s nice to have a lighter recipe to throw into the mix amongst all the heaviness of the Fall season.
in all my baking experience you can ALWAYS use whites instead of full eggs or whites along with yolks – stop freezing them! lol just use them, it won’t ruin your recipe, trust :)
Those look exquisite. Intriguing flavor combo as well.
These look beautiful! I typically just stash any extra whites in the fridge and add an extra egg white or two in when I’m making an egg dish or scrambling eggs for breakfast.
whoa, you can freeze egg whites? how did i not know this?!
Yum! What a great use of freeze dried fruit! Thanks for the tip about strawberries, I would have gone down that path!
Lindsay they are absolutely gorgeous! I love the color – delicate and beautiful!
I’ve never thought to do that with egg whites! But I sure will now :)
Make a layer cake with swiss meringue buttercream! Though meringues would have to be a close second.
That’s a smart idea. How did you thaw it when you want to use it? I usually make fried rice for any leftovers, but I can start following your steps here. Love the color combo on this metingues.
Well, if I plan ahead I put the bag in the fridge the night before. More often than not, though, I need them thawed immediately, so I just put them in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes or so. Luckily freezing them flat in plastic bags allows them to thaw pretty darn quick!
I looove meringues, so this recipe is going onto my ‘must do’ list very soon.
I have a meringue obsession. So much so that I have a whole Pinterest board for them. These will go on that board as a must try!! Thanks Lindsay. Freeze dried fruit makes so much sense.
I also love to make French Macaroons, but sometimes I want something easier and for that I love the recipe for chocolate chip meringues from smitten kitchen, definitely worth trying.
I too have a problem with freezing egg whites and then…not using them. Oops. I have found meringues and macarons are the best use for them as well.
Mmm this sounds lovely!
I make french macarons with my leftover egg whites! They took some time to perfect, but they are soooooo yummy!
Thanks for all of the wonderful recipes!!!!!!