I asked my friend Betty Liu, a talented food photographer I met in New Hampshire this October, to share a holiday recipe with us today!

During this time of year, our worlds are inevitably filled with festivities–red ribbons garnishing trees, lights flashing along the borders of houses, holiday cards arriving in the mail, cookies abound. Sometimes, amidst all this cheer and detailed festivities, all I want to do is decompress with something simple and straightforward. When I still want to make something sweet (a great way to decompress!) but don’t want to take out my piping bag to make ornately festive cookies, I turn to meringues…

They’re classic. They’re sweet. They’re so darn pretty and customizable. I used to be intimidated by meringues–will it peak up properly? What if they crack? What if they’re too sweet? However, in college I took a food science course, and one of our chapters described meringues and how the egg whites interact with sugar to create that characteristic light, fluffy, airy treat. I was fascinated and went home that very day to whip up a meringue.

Cream of tartar can stabilize a meringue but if you don’t have some handy, you canstill whip up a good meringue. You don’t need a recipe to make meringue. The ratiois 2:1 of sugar to egg whites. I listed the amount in grams, but 220g is approximately 6 eggs. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your egg whites, then adjust according inly with sugar, as the mass of egg whites can vary per egg. There are just a few facts you need to keep in mind:

1. Egg whites should be at room temperature

2. There should not be even a hint of egg yolk in your egg white mixture

3. Use a clean, dry bowl–the presence of any oil or fat can disrupt your meringue

4. Add sugar in increments. This allows the sugar to fully dissolve before you add in more.

5. You can use any type of flavoring, and this can be folded after your meringue is all whipped.

One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is to incorporate my favorite teas in everything, especially desserts. Jasmine green tea is one of my favorites, but you can substitute with earl grey, matcha, black tea, or any tea you prefer. My recommendation is to brew a very strong batch of tea for this so that the flavor can really permeate through the meringue.

Here’s the recipe:

 

Jasmine Green Tea Meringues

220g egg whites, at room temperature

pinch of cream of tartar

440g granulated sugar

1 tbsp very concentrated jasmine green tea water

Heat oven to 200F.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy, then begin to add sugar a tablespoon at a time, steadily, withmixer still going. Whip until you see stiff peaks that hold its shape when removing the whisk attachment. Fold in flavoring. Dollop or pipe meringues onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet and use a spoon to create a swirl. Bake for two hours, then shut off oven and allow meringues to stay dry in the oven until cool. Leave overnight if necessary.