“THE AIR UP THERE IN THE CLOUDS IS VERY PURE AND FINE, BRACING AND DELICIOUS. AND WHY SHOULDN’T IT BE? IT IS THE SAME THE ANGELS BREATHE.” Mark Twain
There was a time when I dreamed about traveling state to state, stopping off to see a baseball game played in every stadium in the country. Well that dream has changed only slightly. I would much rather travel the country visiting bakeries! Have you seen the show Unique Sweets? Well they often have a theme for each show, but they basically feature several bakeries across the country and one of the sweets that they are famous for. One show featured the bakery, Proof, in Los Angeles. And one of the things Proof is known for are these meringues which are about the size of your hand and filled with flavor! They offer chocolate and pistachio, citrus and coconut, and strawberry. What fascinated me is that the strawberry was made with dehydrated strawberries. So I did my best to recreate these using…..
…..dehydrated mandarin oranges!
At Proof, they talked about grinding the dehydrated strawberries into a powder, incorporating that into the meringue and then sprinkling a bit on top as well. So….I had this package of dehydrated mandarin oranges that I found at Trader Joe’s. And so I decided to see how I could work that into a meringue.
I know…..this is kind of a funky and unique product. I bought them on a whim. They are fabulous on their own as a snack. But I originally purchased them thinking I might rehydrate them in a simple syrup and a little Triple Sec and use them to top an orange cake I am planning on making.
Here is what they looked like before they met my mini food processor:
So I ground these pretty little slices into a powder. I used the mini food processor to chop up some pistachios as well. And both of these were folded into the meringues as well as being sprinkled on top before baking. That’s the thing about meringues, they bake so slowly at such a low heat that it doesn’t really change the pretty color on top!
See?
Since they don’t give the recipe on Unique Sweets, I thought I would just use my trusty meringue recipe and wing it with the mix ins. Here’s what I used:
8 1/4 oz. castor sugar
4 large egg whites at room temperature
the juice of one lemon (I might have tried orange for this recipe but I didn’t have one!)
4 Tablespoons of mandarin orange powder (reserve one Tablespoon for sprinkling on top)
4 Tablespoons of finely ground pistachios (reserve one Tablespoon for sprinkling on top)
Preheat your oven to 170°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix the sugar and lemon juice in the bowl of your electric mixer. Add one egg white and mix for about a minute. The mix may look a little hard, but keep going. Add another egg white, beat for another minute. And when all the egg whites are in, beat until the whites form stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in three Tablespoons each of the orange powder and pistachios and mix for a minute more.
I then used a large serving spoon to scoop the meringue into a cannelle form and placed them on the parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle the remaining orange powder and pistachios evenly over all of the meringues and place them in the oven. Bake at 170°F for 1 1/2 hours. Then turn off the heat, open the oven doors a crack, and let them sit in the oven until cooled.
I love the crunchy, soft, chewiness of home made meringues. But I love them even more when they are a bigger cookie like these. I think these could really be dressed up for Easter! And of course, you could always pipe them into shapes or make them smaller if you’d like. But they are heavenly!
Perfect clouds of heaven! In every soft , chewy bite!
So use your imagination and mix and match flavors and ENJOY!
That is SO cool! I bet the meringues tasted like a dream…I LOVE mandarine oranges!
Thanks Ann! These are nice and light. Just like your scrambled egg stuffed potato skins! Those look scrumptious! : )
I love meringues. Such a light treat and I love the way you flavored these with the orange and pistachios!
Thanks Stephanie! I now think of meringues like cookies. But everyone….please head over to Steph’s site to see the most BEAUTIFUL Italian Biscuit Cookies! AMAZING! : )
These are amazing. You know me and pistachios. I love the orange in this. I bet they taste out of this world.
Thanks Kim…and yes! I know of your love affair with pistachios! And I love the new, pretty makeover to your blog! You did a great job! : )
Puffy, yummy goodness; you rock lady! What channel is Unique Sweets on? I’d love to be glued to the set watching it. I share the same dream as you, traveling and stopping at all the bakeries. That’s what I call a dream job! Makes me wonder what happened to the show that used to be on Food Network – Food Finds. Man I wanted that job!
Oh thanks Sandra! Unique Sweets is on the cooking channel. It’s a great source for dessert inspiration! But I’ve got to tell you…..YOU are a great source of dessert inspiration for me. Your recent baby shower dessert table was just beautiful…..lovely cupcakes and truffles! And let me know if you ever plan a baking tour of D.C……I’d love to be your guide! : )
No wonder you dreamed of these. They look simply divine!
Thanks….and your chicken with pepperoni marinara is equally divine!!! : )
Anne these meringues look stunning. Wow… talk about taking about turning up the flavor! I love the orange/pistachio combination. The photos are picture perfect.
Thanks Ramona….and YOU know about turning up the flavor….just look at your curried asparagus! Just beautiful! : )
What if you could visit all the stadiums and bakeries?? Now wouldn’t that be a trip! I had no idea you liked baseball, color me silly, but that just makes me so happy! And so do these meringues. What a good flavor combination. There’s room to fit a Trader Joes run into my day, isn’t there? Thanks for the inspiration.
Mikaela! I think you are on to something here! That WOULD be a trip! I LOVE baseball, but I think I now love pastry more! And thanks for you great post about Murray’s cheese shop and particularly your tips for Parmesan! Loved reading that! : )
Visiting every bakery would be a dream come true. However, in the meantime I will settle for one visit to your kitchen. These meringues look fabulous and you made a great choice in the flavor blend. I will take at least a dozen please!
Okay….you can come to my kitchen if I can come to yours! Oh….and another fair trade off….these meringues for a dozen of your fabulous chocolate chip cookies with brownie chunks. Tina…you wouldn’t even have to feed me in your kitchen….I’d just love to see your creative mind at work! : )
These look like amazing meringues. I love the mandarin orange and pistachio combo too. Sounds wonderful!
Thanks Cassie….and loved your guest post at Kim’s for that beautiful tapenade! : )
I’ve never seen dehydrated mandarin oranges–that is fabulous! And these cookies are just dreamy. I love pistachio and citrus flavors together.
Oh thanks so much. But I would definitely pair this with your beautiful grapefruit sorbet! : )
What a great combination of ingredients. Such a good idea to grind those little bits of dried fruit up and add it to meringues. These are beautiful!
Thanks Dee! AND….your swiss rainbow chard with pine nuts looks scrumptious! : )
What a neat idea, Anne! I love meringue cookies cause of the low fat idea but they can be rather bland at times. I can see myself eating a few gazillion of these though.
Oh thanks Jan! And I could eat a few gazillion pieces of your lemon lavender cornmeal pound cake. That is just beautiful! Such a great recipe for spring! : )
Wow! These meringues are so pretty. They are the sort of delicate confection you see in a fine Parisian pastry shop. Love the addition of the dehydrated orange – I can image the flavour sings in your mouth. Love your Mark Twain quote too.
Thanks Hester! Oh what I wouldn’t give to visit a fine Parisian pastry shop! Speaking of which…..I still have your gorgeous pan perdu on my brain! : )
Woah! These look incredible Anne. Bet they tasted divine.
Never mind about these! Everyone ….RUN…..over to Baker Street for the most AMAZING recipe for mascarpone oreo cookies! Go! Run! : )
Lovely flavours! Love the orange pistachio combination…the meringues look gorgeous.
Thank you! I know you are an orange pistachio fan because you made some beautiful orange pistachio semolina muffins and your recent tomato rice looks just fabulous! : )
Oh my! These look and sound amazing! I do have to get to Trader Joe’s soon. My shopping list for them is growing. Lemon Cookies and now Crispy Mandarin Orange Slices too!
Hi Kris! Bring a big bag when you go to Trader Joe’s….you won’t come out empty handed! And your rotisserie chicken from scratch looks soooooo much better than any I’ve ever purchased! (And I really love rotisserie chicken). Hope you and your chicks are doing well! : )
Meringues are one of my favorites! I don’t make them nearly enough. This flavor combination sounds great!
Thanks Erin. And oatmeal is one of my favorite things to eat. And your peanut butter and jelly version is sensational! : )
So delicious! Great write up. I’ll give you a site where I got real fruit on powder form, I mix it with milk and ice cream to go healthy. they have guava, apple, soursop, papaya, pineapple. A lot of fruits and veggies. Enjoy guys! http://www.freshlydried.com
Thanks Sara! And thanks for the link to the fruit powder site! Sounds good with milk and ice cream….but I can think of so many other desserts, too! And much easier than grinding your own dried fruit! GREAT idea! : )
I saw meringues mentioned at another blog last week and didn’t know of a meringue as a cookie. I’ve always thought of it as a soft topping for a cream pie. Now I know how they are made! Of course, I’m sure that these are better than any meringue cookies I could buy. The orange powder and pistachios sounds absolutely delicious in these simple cookies. I love the picture that shows the broken cookie and you can see the inside. I just want to reach in and grab it!
Thanks MJ! Even if you piped these into little meringue cookies…there’s nothing like homemade…they are so much softer, chewier with a light crunchy shell! I wish we COULD share food through our computers….because I’d be enjoying a piece of your beautiful buttermilk cornbread right now! : )
Oh wow, these look absolutely amazing! So creative – I love the fresh flavours, I’ve never seen dehydrated orange slices like that!
Thanks Anna! But those eggs….so beautifully placed on top of your pasta bake….is what is absolutely amazing to me! : )
These meringues look absolutely delightful! I have been wanting to try to make some but haven’t done it! I would love for you to come and link your fabulous recipe up on my linky
Have a great day!
http://successful2gether.blogspot.com/2012/03/successful-saturday-link-up-week-6.html
Thanks Angie….and meringues are easier than you would think! Thanks for the invite to link up! Hope you have a great weekend! : )
That looks so amazing! It must have tasted heavenly. Would love to try dried oranges.
Thanks Asmita! Those dehydrated oranges, on their own, are a great snack. Your paneer rolls look amazing too….vibrantly colored, sweet and spicy! : )
SO creative! I’ll have to look for those dried oranges at TJs! This is such an elegant take on a traditional meringue!
Thanks Tif….I LOVE my Trader Joe’s! : )
Very inventive and very tasty! We agree that a trip around the country visiting bakeries would be worth every calories laden mile. Have to pick up some of these dries mandarin oranges, they look like they should be a pantry staple.
Thanks guys…..and just a little something something from each bakery is all I need! : )
I’ve been wanting to try meringues for a very long time, what I really like about your meringues is the shape haha so simple and they look pretty good
Thanks Beti…..I guess you could pipe these out….but in this clip about the bakery….they really just plopped them off of a BIG spoon! Guess I’ll call these rustic….LOL!
You always deliver the most imaginative ways of presenting your delights Anne… You are an artist.
Awww….Kelly….how nice. But I really rely so much on other sources of inspiration! And thankfully so! : )
That’s clever Anne! My brain is already running a mile a minute with other ways to use that ground up dehydrated orange! I hope you’ve been doing well and had a nice Easter with your family.
Thanks Jen….isn’t that dehydrated orange kind of funky? I’m going to keep my eyes out for some similar products! Hope you had a great Easter, too! : )
I must apologise for not commenting in such a long time – life has been a little hectic
This meringue creation is exquisite! Persian flavours perfectly balanced in a puff of edible cloud
Yum!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Oh no worries….I know first hand how hectic life gets….but I’m always happy when you stop by. You have such a way with words! Thanks so much! : )
Yummmm… Can I order a gazillion dozen… to go, please?
Thanks Jon…..and I will gladly deliver a gazillion dozen next time I see you! : )