These light, airy, sweet and crisp, melt-in-your-mouth cookies are a spin on the classic egg-based meringue dessert. This vegan version uses cream of tartar to help stabilize the egg-free meringue.
Chef's notes
* Use chilled liquid and reduced liquid.
* If the meringue softens before you can pipe all of the cookies, rebeat.
* On humid or rainy days, meringues may be sticky at the end of baking time. If so, bake them up to 30 minutes longer and allow the meringues to cool in a falling oven for an additional hour or more without opening the door. Once cool, immediately transfer to a container, cover and store airtight, at room temperature. I find the best way to keep meringue cookies crisp is to store them in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Steps
1
Preparing the Meringue & Baking the Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted chickpea liquid
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
4 ounces superfine sugar (organic cane sugar ground in high speed blender or spice grinder)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract, optional
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (optional, but suggested)
Combine the chickpea liquid and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed until cream of tartar is incorporated and the liquid is semi-opaque. Increase the speed to high and beat for 1 minute or until opaque.
Add 1 tbsp sugar and immediately raise the speed to high and beat for 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and continue to add the sugar,1 tbsp at a time, beating on high for 1 minute after each addition. When all of the sugar has been added, beat for an additional 10 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula from time to time. The meringue should be stiff, white and glossy. If not, keep beating until it is.
Reduce the speed to medium and slowly add the vanilla and lemon juice (if using). Note: The lemon juice adds a lovely light lemon flavor. Beat on high another 5 minutes or until the meringue is stiff, white and glossy, like marshmallow fluff. The total time needed depends on your mixer. You cannot over beat so don’t worry.
For video instructions of how to make the meringue, see this video recipe here Vegan Meringue.
Once you have a nice thick meringue with peaks, make the cookies.
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle. Preheat the oven to 225°F (105°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop the meringue into a pastry bag. Pipe (we use an Ateco 866 tip) rounds onto the prepared parchment-lined sheet pans, leaving about 1-inch between each cookie.
Transfer to the preheated oven and bake 1 to 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. Rotate the pans half way through the baking process.
Remove from the oven when meringues are completely dry. After resting a few minutes, you can easily lift the cookies off the baking sheet onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving or storing.
