Latin Meringue Cookies (Suspiros)
Suspiros are delicate meringue cookies with a perfect crisp shell and soft center. A simple, elegant dessert for any celebration or cozy afternoon.
Servings 70 small meringue cookies
Calories 2kcal
Ingredients
- 113 grams / 3 large egg whites room temperature
- 200 grams / 1 cup superfine/caster sugar
- 5 grams / 1 teaspoon lime juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 100C/210F.
- Toss the egg whites into a clean and dry bowl and begin whipping on low to medium speed until soft peaks form, approximately 5 minutes.
- Toss in a tablespoon of sugar and whip for 15 seconds before adding more in portions, allowing the sugar to dissolve between whipping.
- Continue whipping until glossy and all the sugar is dissolved, approximately 7 minutes (12 minutes total whipping time).
- Add in the lime juice and fold through the mixture.
- Spoon a portion of the meringue into a piping bag with a rosette tip (see note for sizing of piping tip) and pipe a small amount of meringue onto the corners of your baking tray.
- Place parchment paper on top and press down to set the paper in its place.
- Pipe portions of meringue onto your baking tray with ½ inch / 1 centimeter in between and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and allow to cool in the oven before transferring to dry containers.
- Serve up alongside your favorite hot drink.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Egg whites: The meringue is the foundation of these cookies, room temperature, is essential here to give you the right texture. If you want to whip the cookie recipe and your egg whites are fresh out of the fridge, simply place the egg whites in a bowl and dip the bowl into a warm water bath to come to room temperature quicker.
- Sugar: Superfine or caster sugar will dissolve easily in our meringue and add sweetness without additional flavor. You could replace with white sugar. For a more caramel flavored meringue, you could replace with brown sugar, however, this would also affect the color of the Suspiros.
- You can beat meringue too long: Over whipping egg whites can result in your meringue collapsing or weeping beads of sugar once baked. The best way to avoid over beating is to ensure you beat at a steady speed and allow at least 20-30 seconds of beating time for the sugar to dissolve between adding more and try not to beat for longer than 15 minutes (this is around the break point, I’ve noticed). Unfortunately, you cannot repair over whipped meringue, though, dependent on how over whipped they are, you could make an egg white based recipe such as macaroon’s or even a baked Alaska.
- Piping tip: The tip used here was The C4 or S/C4 piping nozzle has a diameter of 8mm.
- Best stored: In an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. Keep away from humidity to maintain their crispness.
- Avoid sticky meringues: Meringues can become sticky if exposed to humidity. Make sure to bake them for the full length of time - covering with foil after 30 minutes to ensure their pale color is kept intact (if necessary), allow the oven to cool completely before moving and storing in a dry container before consuming/gifting.
Nutrition
Calories: 2kcal