Basketweave Meringues with Freeze Dried Raspberries & Peaches

Hi sweet followers!! Hope your weekend is going well! I've

been in the kitchen baking meringues today! I thought it

would be fun to use my basketweave tip to pipe out some

meringues that I flavored with freeze dried raspberries

and peaches! They turned out really cute!!

I made 2 batches of basic brown sugar meringues recipe, then

added one package of freeze dried raspberries to one batch and

one package of freeze dried peaches to the other batch. The 

raspberry meringues had fantastic flavor and color. The peach 

meringues were yummy too, but the package was smaller than the 

raspberries so there wasn't quite as much flavor. I also added a 

bit of food coloring to create a peach color.

I used Ateco tip #898 to pipe the meringues. Just make sure to 

hold the piping bag so that the "teeth" are on top (as shown

above) while piping. I piped my meringues about 2 1/2" long,

then baked them at 225F for 2 hours.

These meringues are just delicious!! They stay nice and 

crisp in an airtight container for at least a week, probably 

longer!

The meringues are fantastic alone, but add whipped

cream and berries and they are superb!!  

For the filling I wanted something other than simply

whipped cream, so I tried adding cream cheese to the heavy 

cream, then I tried mascarpone and heavy cream. I liked the 

mascarpone best because it produced a silky filling and 

was easier to pipe. Then I added a bit of pink natural food 

coloring that I just discovered and I really liked the color.

RASPBERRY & PEACH MERINGUES

Ingredients for 1 Batch:

4 large egg whites (room temp)

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

freeze dried raspberries or

freeze dried peaches 

For the filling:

1 cup heavy Cream

1/4 cup mascarpone 

1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/8 teaspoon McCormick "Berry" 

powdered food coloring (or you can

just add your own pink food coloring)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. and line

2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Process desired freeze dried fruit in a 

food processor. Use a fine mesh sifter to 

strain out any seeds.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk

attachment beat egg whites until foamy

(about 30 seconds), add cream of tartar and 

salt and beat until meringue forms soft peaks.

Add brown sugar 2 tablespoons at a time until 

incorporated.  Add freeze dried fruit (and food 

coloring now, if desired.) Turn mixer to high and 

whip mixture to stiff peaks. 

Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with

a basketweave tip. (I used Ateco tip #898)

Pipe meringues about 2 1/2 inches long spacing 

them 1 inch apart.  Bake for one hour, then 

rotate the baking sheets and continue to bake

for one more hour. I left my meringues in the

oven for another 30 minutes after turning the

oven off. Remove from oven, let cool on baking 

sheet, then immediately place in an airtight 

container. Makes 3 dozen meringues.

To make Meringue Stacks:

Beat together filling ingredients to stiff peaks,

then fill a piping bag fitted with an open star tip

with some of the filling. Place 3 meringues side by 

side on a baking sheet, ridges side up. Begin 

piping the filling on one meringue moving

 from side to side until cookie is covered with 

filling. Next, pipe filling on second meringue and 

gently place on top of the first. Top with the third 

meringue. Pipe a small swirl of filling on top and 

add a small sugar flower or an edible flower if 

desired. Keep repeating this process until all 

meringues are used. Place on a pretty 

cake stand and serve immediately.

I also made these using Ateco tip #846.

So cute!!

Happy Baking!!