Friday Favorites Nov. 27 (Black Friday Deals!)

Hello! I hope this finds you well and stuffed with turkey, if you’re in the states since yesterday was Thanksgiving

We had a good day and everything that I cooked turned out great except for the pecan pie.

I should have used this pecan pie recipe.

My mom made cranberry jalapeno jam, which I spread over cream cheese.

That’s one of my favorite nibbles.

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Meringues are an extra special cookie because having them turn out perfectly is quite an accomplishment.

Having any batch of cookies turn out is an accomplishment but meringues look so fancy and quite upmarket, especially if you pipe them instead of plopping them on the baking tray with a spoon.

Another reason to fall in love with meringues is their shelf life, if you can keep your family or roommates from devouring them all the first day.

You can keep meringues in an airtight container at room temperature for two weeks. Or freeze meringue cookies in a hard container like a cookie tin for a month.

One note of caution, choose a dry day for making meringues.

Too much humidity can cause the sugar in the egg whites absorb moisture, which will prevent your mixture from forming stiff peaks.

Your meringues may also weep because of humidity or turn soft. No one wants to eat sad, saggy meringues.

Ingredient List for Meringues

Equipment You’ll Need

Meringue Cookie Recipe Notes

You’ll want to prepare in advance by putting your metal or glass mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for an hour. The cold will help your egg whites stiffen into peaks.

Speaking of egg whites, pull those out of the fridge. You want the egg whites at room temperature. If you forget to pull the egg whites out, you’ll just have to beat them longer.

Be sure to scrub the bowl and whisk with hot, soapy water before drying and putting in the freezer. If any oil or a speck of dirt gets in your egg whites, it can keep your egg whites from stiffening.

Start with egg whites at room temperature. Add the salt and cream of tartar immediately. 

Beat the egg whites/salt/cream of tartar mixture for at least five minutes before beginning to add the sugar.

You’ll slowly add the sugar a couple tablespoons at a time, beating for a minute or two after each addition.

Once you’ve added all the sugar, continue beating until the all the sugar has been thoroughly absorbed by the egg white mixture.

You’ll know the sugar has been absorbed by rubbing a bit of the egg white/sugar mixture between two finger pads. If you feel any grains of sugar, you need to continue beating the mixture. 

Keep beating until you feel the mixture and it’s completely smooth and creamy.

Add extract and food coloring, beat until combined, about a minute.

These need to bake immediately. 

Prepare your piping bag or plastic bag if you’re going to use a pastry tip to form the meringues.

If you’re going to use a regular Ziplock type bag, snip about a quarter inch off one corner of the bag and insert the piping tip. 

Put the bag inside a drinking glass or a mug and pull it open and down over the mug.

Having the opening held open by the cup will make it easier to fill with meringue.

Spoon the meringue mixture into the bag and close it with a rubber band or a twist tie.

Smoosh the meringue down towards the tip end of the bag.

Using one hand to guide the tip and the other hand to apply pressure, extrude meringues into kiss shapes. These should be about twice the size of a Hershey’s Kiss. 

These will not spread so you can space them fairly close together. 

Bake at 220 F for 90 minutes. 

Turn the oven off at the end of the 90 minutes and leave the meringues in the oven until it cools down.

Remove from oven and find an airtight container to store the meringues in once they have cooled completely. 

These will keep for a month at room temperature in an airtight container. 

If you don’t have raspberry oil, you can use a different flavor. 

If you don’t have any food coloring, leave them white.

Frequently Asked Questions

Five Things I’m Loving this Week

Blueberry pie on Thanksgiving.

The teenager asked for blueberry along with our usual pumpkin and pecan.

I generally only make blueberry pie in the deepest part of summer so it was fun to make it in November.

The berries were frozen, of course, but were still tiny bursts of blue deliciousness.

The teenager had two big slices in a row. I don’t have a recipe to share with you because I just winged it.

But, two tips for making blueberry pie, well make that three tips.

Always use Maine blueberries.

Add the juice of a lemon.

Include at least a sprinkle or two of cinnamon.

Hulu Black Friday Deal

We’ve subscribed to Hulu off and on since getting rid of cable several years ago.

There’s a screaming deal on a 12-month subscription to Hulu: $1.99 a month. This is the version that includes limited commercials.

When we subscribe we do the commercial free version and pay $11.99 a month.

After having lived life for years commercial free except for websites, I don’t think I can ever go back.

There are a lot of shows and movies we like on Hulu, including some oldies but goodies like King of the Hill (Remember Hank Hill, propane and propane accessories salesman?) and new ones like Little Fires Everywhere.

A 12-month Hulu subscription might be a nice gift for the holidays also.

Christmas Decorations

I’m really looking forward to decorating for Christmas and the Winter Solstice this year.

Probably because it’s a pandemic and I’m Always Home.

We’re having a spat of mild weather in Maine so I think I’m going to go full Martha and start making pine boughs and garlands.

It’s really best to do that outside lest you have a house covered with sap until Easter.

Have you started decorating yet?

First Leaf Wine

First Leaf Wine is also having a great deal for the Black Friday weekend: 6 bottles for $29.95 + free shipping for 1 year.

If you’re not a wine drinker, turn these six bottles into economical gifts.

Ring Lights!

This light is my last favorite thing for Friday.

The light is, if not life changing, selfie and Zoom meeting changing.

The ring light clips easily to your computer monitor or your phone to lighten your face and make you look younger and fresher.

I’ll post examples later this weekend.