Snow peaks (meringues)

Mmmmeringues. So snowy. So white. So clean. So complementary to the massive amounts of snowfall Boston is experiencing. Rebe made these yesterday while I was working at the bakery (The bakery? What bakery? Yeah, I work here now, it's awesome), and I couldn't resist photographing them for you all. Top them off with a lovely dollop of whipped cream, or serve with berries for a fruity twist. These meringues are hard on the outside, but the inside is made up of a soft, sugary cloud. It's bliss.

Makes 16 meringues

For the meringues:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup confectioner's sugar
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 225°F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil or wax paper. In a small bowl, combine the two sugars. In a medium-sized bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar until soft and foamy. Next, add one tablespoon at a time of the sugar mixture, beating continuously. Beat about 5 minutes, until when you pull the mixer out, the meringue holds very stiff peaks.

Using a pencil, draw sixteen 2 1/4 inch (diameter) circles on the foil or wax paper. In a piping bag with a 1/4 tip (if you don't have one, a Ziplock will do just fine! just cut a tiny slit), create swirls of meringue. Start in the center of each circle, pipe a widening spiral of meringue until each circle hits the pencil mark. Continue to pipe the swirl upwards, building the meringue into a peak, about 1 1/2 inches tall.

Bake for 2 hours. To test, remove one of the meringues from the oven and let it cool for 2 minutes. Break open the meringue to see if it's hard on the outside. The meringue should have a hard outer shell and a nice mousey cloud of goodness on the inside. Voilà!

Recipe taken from the Joy Of Cooking.