A GREAT WAY TO USE UP LEFTOVER EGG WHITES!

A lot of pastry is made in my house over Christmas (because of ALL THOSE MINCE PIES), which means I tend to find myself with a lot of leftover egg white. Yes, I could make myself an egg white omelette to balance out all those mince pies, but this is a much better way to use it!

RECIPE: MINT CHOCOLATE MERINGUES

MAKES: 25

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 large EGG WHITES
• 120g WHITE GRANULATED SUGAR
• 1 level tsp. CREAM OF TARTAR
• ^_1/2 tsp. PEPPERMINT EXTRACT
• A few drops GREEN FOOD COLOURING (optional)
• 25g CHOCOLATE, melted

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 90c and line a baking sheet with foil. In a mixing bowl, beat the EGG WHITES on a medium speed until stiff. Increase the speed and with the whisk running – add the WHITE GRANULATED SUGAR 1 tbsp. at a time. Then add the CREAM OF TARTAR, PEPPERMINT EXTRACT, and GREEN FOOD COLOURING. You can omit the colouring, or add as much or as little as you like, depending on how ‘green’ you want the meringues to be.
2. Attach a closed star nozzle (or whichever nozzle you have – but star-shaped if possible) to your piping bag and fill with the meringue mixture. Pipe evenly spaced roses onto the foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, then prop open the oven door and leave them to completely cool in the oven.
3. When cool, drizzle over the melted chocolate and leave to set.