MARTHASTEWART.COM

Meringue Swirls

Food editor Kristina Kurek mixed fresh vanilla bean seeds and citrus zest into a meringue cookie. The result -- a sweet, swirly cloud that tastes as good as it looks.
Martha Stewart Living, May 2012
  • Prep Time 20 minutes
  • Total Time 2 hours
  • Yield Makes 25
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Ingredients

  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
  • Large pinch of salt
  • Large pinch of cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
  • Gel-paste food coloring, in orange

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Add vanilla bean seeds. Set bowl over a pot of simmering water, and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm, about 3 minutes. Add salt and cream of tartar.

  2. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue is mostly cooled, about 7 minutes. Beat in zest.

  3. Using a small paintbrush, paint 3 vertical stripes of food coloring inside a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip (Ateco #805). Fill bag with meringue, and pipe 1 3/4-inch circular shapes (they don't need to be perfect rounds) 2 inches apart on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. As you finish piping each shape, apply less pressure to pastry bag, and swirl the tip off in a circular motion.

  4. Bake meringues until crisp on the outside but still soft inside, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Cook's Note

Clear flush-lid Amac box, 4" by 5 1/6", containerstore.com.

Recipe Reviews

  • meringue lover
    6 Dec, 2012

    Just pulled the meringue's out of the oven - burnt and revolting. Followed the recipe exactly trusting martha all the way. Suprised how high the oven was. DISASTER

  • DADAVIDSON
    29 Aug, 2012

    Is it possible to make these in advance and freeze?

  • nanarob2
    1 Jun, 2012

    Wow, this recipe sounds marvelous! Do I need to use the vanilla bean seeds, or can I use a tsp of pure vanilla?

  • CookParadise Cuisine
    1 Jun, 2012

    Hello Martha Swirl meringue recipe, that is what you call cream pie? and the gel paste food coloring? are found in France? thank you. Valerie for COOK PARADISE France.

  • CookParadise Cuisine
    1 Jun, 2012

    Hello Martha Swirl meringue recipe, that is what you call cream pie? and the gel paste food coloring? are found in France? thank you. Valerie for COOK PARADISE France.

  • julianne0009
    23 May, 2012

    I made these yesterday and they turned out great. HOWEVER, I changed the cooking time a lot. I've always known meringues to be ready when you can touch them in the oven and they feel dry. So I cooked them at 200 degrees for 1 hour 50 minutes to get there. They turned out dry all the way through (not soft on the inside like the recipe suggests), but I like crispy meringues. I think I'll try 1 hour 35 min. next time. Used lemon zest 'cause I had it, but curious to try orange.

  • bumpslip1
    16 May, 2012

    I followed the receipe to the letter, but I have a major problem with the after effects. Once cooled, they become very soft and stickty. I cooled them down in the refrigerator and they still are very soft and sticky. Does this mean that maybe they have to be cooked longer than 1hr. and 15 minutes?

  • SMerrigal66
    23 Apr, 2012

    I've made this recipe twice. They are delicious, but they don't dry completely on the outside and are sticky. I baked at 200 in a convection oven for about 1 1/2 hours. The inside is perfect, but there's no way I could put together in a package without them becoming one big blob. I live in Florida and thought maybe the humidity is a factor, but it's not bad right now. Any suggestions? Thanks!