Paleo Meringue Nests

   Well, it's felt like a long week, and a long week calls for a sweet treat! I should really post something fresh, seasonal, Ontarian (something with peaces, of course!)....but I won't. There are no rules here, I have no blog boss! :)   

    In April 2014 I posted a recipe for Mini Meringue Nests; they are tasty, have simple ingredients, and make an impressive and light dessert 'bowl' for fruit, pudding, whipped cream, yadda yadda. 

   Fast forward to now, and I'm eating mostly paleo (about 80-90% of the time), and I only give myself 1 (or 2) treat days a week. So, when we had friends coming over on a non-treat day, I wasn't about to not make a super-fantastic, summer dessert! Gosh no! Luckily the friends we had over love sweets, so they are good guinea pigs (thanks Val!) :) 

   I made my crazy delicious Honey Mustard & Rosemary Chicken (in a pan on the bbq), roasted potatoes, obviously also on the bbq, and a green, leafy salad...maybe a coleslaw too...? Can't remember, doesn't matter! What does matter is dessert (really, the most important part of any meal!). I took my regular, non-paleo mini meringue nests, and gave them a simple switch over to create such a treat; such a lovely, delicate, slightly sticky, oh-so-good treat. Yummy! :)  

Paleo Mini Meringue Nests

Ingredients: 

• 3 egg whites
  
• 3/4 cup plus 2 maple sugar (or coconut sugar is good too)-both give the nests the brown-ish/tan colour as opposed to a usual white meringue made with white sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon tapioca or arrowroot starch

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. If you want your circles to be the exact same size, you can use a bowl or cup that is 3 inches around, and trace 5 on each baking sheet. Then, flip the sheet over so the marks are on the bottom. 
   
2. In a large metal bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Gradually whisk in sugar, then starch. 
3. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Continue whisking for about 5-7 minutes, until the mixture is warm/hot, and the sugar is dissolved (stick your pointer finger in, and rub it together with your thumb to feel if the sugar is dissolved).
4. Remove bowl from heat and, using electric mixer, beat at moderately high speed until mixture cools and holds stiff peaks, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to pastry bag fitted with large star tip.
5. Starting at the centre and working in spiral outward, pipe meringue into a circle, (or trace onto pre-drawn circles, if you did that in step 1). Pipe second layer in ring around edge to form outer wall. Continue doing this until you have 5 nests per sheet. 
6. Bake meringues until dry on outside but still soft inside, about 3 hours. 
7. Transfer pan to rack and cool 5 minutes. Peel meringues from parchment and cool completely on rack. 

Here is the process! Whip the egg whites, add the sugar, whip it up more, put over simmering water until sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and whip until stiff! Fill a piping bag, and make your nests!

The paleo pudding I served with the nests

   So, full disclaimer....if you use maple sugar, your tastes buds will be singing a hallelujah chorus!!! :)  It is such a maple-y marvel! The coconut sugar lends a darker, more 
molasses-y taste; just as yummy, just a different kind of yummy. 
 
   I also found that (no matter how many batches I tried), these didn't stay as dry as regular meringue. I think it's the sugar difference. I tried switching between the two sugars and the starches, but after about 5 minutes out of the oven the meringues nests got a little sticky. lets be honest, that is not a big deal at all, but I wanted to put that out there so if anyone else had this problem you would know I had it too! My solution was to keep the meringue nests in the oven until it was nearly serving time, then I turned the oven back on to it's lowest temperature, and let the nests re-dry slightly. I turned the oven back-off after it had reached temperature, and left them in the oven for dessert, and we just grabbed the nests out of the oven as we wanted them. 

   We filled the nests with this paleo chocolate pudding, fruit, and whipped cream. It. Was. Good. x 1000.    

   I cannot believe that school starts next Tuesday.....I feel (honestly) sad about it; the kids and I have had a great summer (.....maybe because 15 days of the summer I was away from them in Europe, giving me ample time to miss all the sweet things they do, and forget all the irritating things they do! Therefore resetting my child-patience gauge!) :) Haha, whomp, whomp!
   
   The kids are really excited about school starting, and I am looking forward to some time alone in the house getting paintings and different projects ready for an Art Show I am doing at the end of September for Belleville's Culture Days (I'll be downtown on Saturday, September the 26th next to the Library!). 

   I'm signing off now. I meant to post this in the morning, and it's now 7:54 p.m....so, I missed the mark by a smidge.....still, it's summer yet, and I am enjoying the lazy version of life!  I was literally sitting on the couch with the kids, watching a pre-bedtime movie, and one of them said, "is today the weekend?", and I said, "nope, not yet, it's only Friday", and that reminded me that it was Friday, and that I had this post (mostly) ready to go!  Golly.
   
   Well, hopefully next week I'll share some recipes with peaches in them!  Have a good Labour Day weekend fellow Canadians!

xoxo