Pink Peppercorn Meringue

Check out this recipe from one of my favorite cookbook authors, Lauren McDuffie. Pink Peppercorn Meringue is perfectly unique and colorful for a spring time treat. 

Pink Peppercorn Meringue

A few years back I crossed paths with now-author Lauren McDuffie through Instagram. We chatted through a few private messages and soon found out how passionate we are about good made from scratch cooking. Lauren has been so great over the last few years, always wearing an heirloomed apron or using our tea towels in a shoot here and there.

This week I’m excited to share that Lauren is launching the most fabulous cookbook. Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest was inspired by her Appalachian home, and not only has the perfect recipes for each season, but she wrote the most beautiful stories throughout the cookbook that weaves them all together perfectly.

Today I wanted to share with you one (of my many) favorites from her cookbook and also give one of you the chance to win this sweet little cookbook (and one of our aprons!).

Click here for a full roundup of some of my favorite, must-have cookbooks!

STRAWBERRY AND PINK PEPPERCORN MERINGUES

This recipe is as simple as they come: a few ingredients, a couple of steps, and waiting. Time is the primary ingredient in meringue making, 6 to 8 hours of inactive time, when you can be doing something else. Just put the meringues in the oven and let them do their thing for a couple of hours. Then let them cool for several hours until they are just right: crispy and crackling on the outside and marshmallowy soft on the inside—a textural dream, if there ever was one. I like to serve mine with a dollop of barely sweetened whipped cream and some fresh berries, but they’re also great just as they are. The strawberry bits running through the batter give these meringues a lovely speckled-pink look, and the addition of pink peppercorns provides an almost fl oral complement to the berry flavor. If you can’t find them, the meringues will still be delicious. The strawberries however, are a must; they steal the show. At least for me they do, which may come as no surprise.

INGREDIENTS:

•  6 large egg whites

• ¼ tsp cream of tartar

• 1½ cups [300 g] sugar

• 1 Tbsp pink peppercorns, finely crushed

• ½ cup [45 g] crushed or minced dried strawberries

• Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving (optional)

• Sliced fresh strawberries (or any berry you like), for serving (optional)

 Preheat the oven to 200°F [95°C]. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed (or in a large bowl, using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually now, about 1 Tbsp at a time, and beat the mixture until it reaches the stiff peaks stage, 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove any loose skin on the crushed peppercorns, and fold the peppercorns into the meringue batter. Fold in the crushed dried strawberries.

 Drop the meringue batter onto the baking sheet, measuring 1 cup [240 ml] per cookie (I like them big). Smooth them out with a spoon, if desired, but big, fluffy meringues are wonderful as well. Suit yourself here! Bake for 2 hours. The meringues will have hardened on their surfaces, at this point, but will still be moist on the inside. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to dry out in the oven until completely cool, 4 to 6 hours. Serve with the lightly sweetened whipped cream and some fresh berries, if desired. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes about 6 meringues.

 Excerpted with permission from Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest (Chronicle Books, 2019) Text and photographs © Lauren McDuffie.

In this cookbook you will find the most delicious recipes for dinners, desserts, drink + more. And you can see her sweet little model is actually wearing our Children’s Railroad Stripe Apron there in the photo – too sweet. I wanted to team up with Lauren to give one lucky winner a copy of her cookbook, Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest and one of our Railroad Stripe Bistro Aprons. Be sure to enter below for your chance to win! EDITORS NOTE : this giveaway has ended.

And for a roundup off more of my favorite cookbooks, click here

heirloomed is a lifestyle brand with a mission of “keeping heirlooms around for another generation.” Our blog features stories about my favorite made-from-scratch recipes, creating traditions with your family, farmhouse home decor, effortless entertaining by mixing new and vintage pieces, tips on gardening creating a timeless capsule wardrobe, and small town + historic travel. Our product designs feature a collection of “goods inspired by the past, for generations to enjoy” with an array of aprons, table linens, hand-poured candles and keepsake gifts. Learn more at www.heirloomedcollection.com.