Pink Peppermint Chip Meringues

My mum made these festive beauties!  Yes, another meringue recipe, but these will brighten up any Christmas cookie plate!

You will need:
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup sugar
12 oz mini chocolate chips
Red food coloring (careful not to go overboard, as this will affect stiffness of meringue)

1. Preheat oven to 225F/110C.

2. In a lage bowl, beat together the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, peppermint extract, and food colouring.

3. Slowly add the sugar, just one spoonful at a time and continue to beat the meringue until it is stiff enough to form peaks.

4. Carefully fold in the mini chocolate chips.

5. Drop meringues by heaped tablespoonfuls (meringues should be about 1.5in wide and just under an inch tall).

6. Bake about 1 hr 15 minutes, though I recommend you check earlier as browning meringues are not ideal.  These meringues can take up to an hour and a half to bake.

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Mint Christmas Tree Meringues

2 oz./approx 50g semi-sweet bakers chocolate for stars
4 eggs whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp mint extract
Green food coloring (I used 4 drops of McCormick brand)

Prepare chocolate stars FIRST by heating a small amount of chocolate, and using a small piping tip (or cut the tip of a plastic bag), pipe out a few dozen stars in chocolate onto wax paper or parchment.  These can then harden while meringues bake.

For the meringues:
1. Preheat oven to 200F/100 C.

2. In a bowl, beat egg whites and tartar until mixture begins to thicken.

3. Slowly add sugar to the mixture until meringue is able to hold stiff peaks.

4. Beat in mint extract and food coloring.  Be careful not to overdo it on the food coloring, as it will cause your lovely stiff meringue to become a gooey mess.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment or some other non-stick surface.

6. Add mixture to a piping bag with a large cupcake decorating nozzle (see picture of meringues for idea of what type of nozzle would be best).

7. Pipe meringues wide at the base to a point, as though you were using a soft-serve ice cream machine (again, see picture).

8. Bake at 200F/100C for about 2 hours 10 minutes.  Do not open the oven door.  Simply turn off the oven and allow meringues to cool down for another half an hour in the oven.  Then remove and allow to cool.

9. Once cool, you can attach the chocolate stars by heating up any leftover chocolate from before, and dipping the tips of the trees in the warm chocolate.  Set stars on top and allow to cool again.

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Breakfast Burger

I have seen breakfast burgers in many of my favorite restaurants, and I have amalgamated them all into one super Breakfast Burger.

I will spare you a patronizing recipe, and just say that the best order to stack this burger is:
1. Pancake (bottom)
2. Maple Syrup
3. Bacon (cooked)
4. More syrup
5. Burger
6. Cheese (american)
7. Fried egg

As soon as you push the bun on top, ooey-gooey delicious egg yolk will run down the sides and combine with the cheese which works well in a classic burger kind of way.  From the bottom up, your traditional pancakes and syrup will add a strange but amazing sweetness.  And in between is the burger, pulling it all together.  Ta da!

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