The Happy Home Cook: Heart-Shaped Meringue Cookies with Toffee

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Heart-Shaped Meringue Cookies with Toffee (Photo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino)

Heart-Shaped Meringue Cookies with Toffee (Photo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino)

Here’s a lovely Valentine gift you can make for your sweetie. If you have a lot of egg whites leftover from making Leche Flan recipes, bake these Heart-Shaped Meringue Cookies with Toffee. Start with pure, clean, egg whites with not a trace of yolks in them. It’s also best to beat the eggs at room temperature using an electric cake mixer. Finally, after baking in a low temperature, leave the oven door shut for a whole hour to allow the meringue cookies to maintain its crispness. When you bite into them, the crisp outer layer gives way to a soft sweetness dotted with tiny crunches of toffee scattered within. Makes about 10 pieces of 3-inch shaped hearts.

This recipe first posted on the Filipino food blog Asian in America www.AsianInAmericaMag.com.

Ingredients

egg whites - 2 (from two large eggs)

cream of tartar - 1/8 teaspoon

granulated white sugar - ½ cup

Heath English Toffee Bits – ½ cup

pecans - 1/2 cup, chopped finely

Procedure

  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment or baking paper. Set aside.

  • In a large bowl, using a stand or hand cake mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form.

  • Gradually add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes. Using a spatula, gently fold in by hand the toffee bits and pecans.

  • For Valentine's use a heart-shaped cookie mold to shape into hearts, dropping them 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

  • Or if baking on regular occasions, drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake at 250 F degrees for 25 -30 minutes or till meringue is dry. Turn off the oven. Leave the cookies in the oven for 1 hour. Do not open the oven during this whole hour.

  • After 1-hour, cool meringue cookies completely on wire racks to maintain its crispness. Store in an airtight container when the cookies have cooled.

Cook's Comments: If pecans are not available, try substituting unsalted cashew nuts, finely chopped. If there are nut allergies, omit the nuts completely. If you have more than 2 egg whites and wish to bake more meringue cookies, multiply the ingredients in this recipe and bake according to instructions above.

Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Elizabeth Ann Quirino, based in New Jersey is a journalist and author of the “Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Philippine Food In a Multicooker Pot” Cookbook. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and blogs about Filipino home cooking on her site AsianInAmericaMag.com.

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Elizabeth Ann Quirino