Cookie Swap: Peppermint Merignues

I am not a big meringue person, but I know lots of people that are...and these peppermint meringues make me want to give them a try!

What you need:

3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
Red gel-paste food coloring
1 cup heavy cream
6 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

What you do:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; secure corners with masking tape. (this would have been a good tip for me to know the first time I used parchment. The paper and my cookies went sliding off onto the bottom of my oven.)Fit a pastry bag with a small open-star tip. Set aside.

To make meringues:

Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir gently until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Mix in peppermint extract.

Using a new small paintbrush, paint 2 or 3 stripes of red food coloring inside the pastry bag. Fill bag with 1 to 2 cups meringue. Pipe small (3/4-inch-high) star shapes onto prepared baking sheets. Refill bag as necessary, adding food coloring each time. (I am trying to think what else I can use this trick with!!)

Bake cookies until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

To make ganache:

Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until just simmering. Pour over chocolate in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth, about 5 minutes. Let ganache cool at room temperature, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes, until thick enough to hold its shape, about 45 minutes. (If ganache sets before using, reheat in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; repeat the cooling process.)

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip with ganache. (resist temptation to pipe directly into your mouth) Pipe a small amount onto bottom of 1 meringue. Sandwich with another. Repeat with remaining ganache and meringues. Transfer to wire racks; let set 30 minutes. Cookies can be stored in a single layer in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

Ganache is good for like a million things, but I don't think I would use it in between these cookies. It would drive me nuts that both sides had points! But I bet that they taste yummy all by themselves!

I might have to have a post just dedicated to ganache! Remember the post about bark deserving a better name...ganache is the PERFECT name for ganache!