Aquafaba Meringues
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Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup aquafaba/chickpea juice from one 15 ounce can of chickpeas
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Make the meringues:
Preheat oven to 250ºF. Line 3 half sheet pans with parchment paper. Fit a large pastry bag with a large, plain tip. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the aquafaba until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and salt and whisk to combine. Slowly add the sugar and continue whisking until you achieve very stiff peaks.
Transfer the meringue to the prepared pastry bag and pipe quarter-sized dollops onto the parchment lined sheet pans, leaving about 1/2 inch between meringues. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the meringues are firm and baked through. They will crisp up, once they are removed from the oven. Allow to cool completely, and store in an air-tight container.
Makes about 120 cookies. YUM!
LESSONS Learned:
1. Use salt-free chickpeas. That way you can control the amount of salt. Try to find organic too if you can.
2. If you don't have a piping bag with a large round tip, don't worry. You can use a large ziploc freezer bag instead. Just fill the bag with the meringue , zip it shut and snip an 1/2 inch off of one corner.
3. Keep the piped size smaller than larger, a quarter size worked the best. Use a real quarter as a guide to get the size right.
4. When you touch them in the oven they will still feel a little soft. But the minute you take them out to cool, they will immediately crisp up. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes, and they'll release easily.
5. Like any regular meringue, any humidity will make them sticky, so keep them stored in an airtight container.