These 5-ingredient cookies are the ultimate melt-in-your-mouth treat.

It’s hard to open a pastry cookbook without encountering at least one recipe that calls for the use of French meringue. Since the 17th century, cooks have been using it as a natural leavening agent (an ingredient that provides rise and texture) for all kinds of desserts, including angel food cake, souffle, pavlova, baked Alaska, Eton Mess. And baked meringue cookies, that’s it. To name a few

French meringue is one of the simplest, yet most mysterious ingredients in the pastry world. It consists of only four ingredients: egg whites, sugar, acid and salt. These ingredients may seem unremarkable alone, but when combined with the most important element, forceful whipping, they become a marvel of chemistry and confection.

There are entire book chapters devoted to the science involved, but for the sake of brevity, here’s the quick and dirty version. Egg whites consist mostly of water and protein. When they are beaten, the normally hard-wound proteins (mostly ovalbumin) begin to open and expand, causing them to bind together. This network of proteins reinforces the tiny air bubbles that form in the white water, creating a thick foam. As you continue to beat, the protein-reinforced walls of these bubbles become thinner and thinner until the foam reaches a critical water-to-air ratio, introducing more and more air. Suddenly, the walls begin to fail and the meringue takes on a broken appearance, like dull, lumpy clouds. The addition of an acid (in most cases, cream of tartar) helps strengthen the bonds between the proteins, while the sugar increases the viscosity of the water, both of which create stronger bubbles and prevent clumping. .

What does this all mean to you, cook? When making meringue, vigilance is key, which means watching the egg whites carefully while whipping, adding the other ingredients at the right time, and adding the sugar steadily and in small amounts, to ensure that it is stiff. Note that you are firming the meringue while the sugar is dissolving. Mix well. Cooks use all sorts of different methods when making French meringue, none of which are wrong, but I’ve found that the one here produces a reliably stable meringue with just a few tips.

Carefully separate the eggs.

When whipping the egg whites for the meringue, a clean and complete separation is essential to gain volume. The slightest trace of fat (which the yolk contains) will make the meringue flat and useless. To make sure you don’t waste the whole batch, separate the yolks from the whites in a separate bowl at a time, then add them to the mixing bowl after each separation. That way, if you crack one, you’ve just wasted an egg (but go ahead and have it for breakfast instead!).

Whip to soft or stiff peaks as needed.

Different recipes will call for soft braids or firm braids. Once the meringue looks big, glossy, and thick, stop the mixer and check if the meringue is at the soft peak stage by dipping the whisk vertically into the bowl and pulling it straight up, then flip it. A “soft peak” will slowly begin to collapse while a strong peak will not move. If you are whipping soft peaks, the meringue will start to droop a bit after setting aside for five seconds. For firmer peaks, the meringue should not move during this test. If the meringue has not reached the desired consistency, continue beating on high speed for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, then stop and test again.

July 2011

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