Pin Reaper: Zizi
Original Inspiration: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/125889752057543561/, via http://www.raspberricupcakes.com/2013/12/christmas-mess-with-christmas-tree.html
What I Did: Looked simple enough and even looked OK when I put them in the oven, so I had high hopes. Little did I know every single one of my cute xmas trees would crack into some kind of green monstrosity.
My Result:
Next Time I Will: I don’t know how you prevent meringue to crack open, but I’m sure there are ways. I’m not really in the mood to try this again though…
Brave effort! From what I see in the photo, your trees appear to be dollops rather than piped, star-fitted swirls. It could be that the swirls & twirls give the meringue the stability needed to remain upright. Plus those in the background seem crowded. Practice your piping technique and make yourself proud.
Usually cracked meringue means that it cooled too quickly. Make sure you leave them in the oven to slowly cool next time instead of taking them out right away.
Very good advice above.
I let my meringue cool down completely in the oven which helps prevent cracks . but you’ll still have some crack and they are fussy when you go to move them out of the oven.
You might want to make more than you need and select the best ones for the top layer.
Great effort though!
You should whip the meringues longer, until they lose their shine, that should make them more stable and less likely to crack!
Off topic, but a ceramic version of these as a series would make great collectible sculpture art. They might be crap as meringues but the contrasts in color and texture are wonderful. I’ve just made your fail my desktop background.
yes, again I agree. Not whipped enough
, and to shiny. Making these can be a challenge, it takes lots of patience.
Oh god, they kind of resemble a green, alien kkk gathering x)) They scare me a little ;))
While some meringues are meant to be moist on the inside, these cookie meringues aren’t. It’s very important to bake them slowly at a low temperature so that they become almost dehydrated. While the recipe says to bake them for “40-60 minutes” based on your photo I would say that they need to bake for at least twice that long. It would take a lot longer than that for them to burn at a low oven setting (around 200 F), so don’t worry about that.