Meringue Powder Mayhem

This weekend I did a little baking. It was a very little baking– I only made 8 cookies, but the process took an entire weekend. As you all know, Kendra has been learning to make decorative cookies. Her blogs and stories have inspired me to try making decorative cookies. Here's the story…

It all started on Saturday. The process began with a trip to the book store to pick up Cookie Book: Creating Edible Works of Art; a stop at a pastry supply store to purchase some cookie cutters, pastry bags and other piping necessities; and, an exhaustive search of Murray Hill grocery stories to find meringue powder. Rather than launching into decorative cookies in the shapes of ladybugs, ice skates or Thanksgiving turkeys, I decided a basic cookie cutter shape would be better for my inaugural decorative cookie experience. I chose a heart-shape cookie cutter as it seemed the simplest, and one of the cutest!

I began by making the cookie dough, which consists of several pounds of butter, some sugar, vanilla and of course the basic dry ingredients. According to my cookbook, the recipe should produce 36 cookies, but for some reason I only had enough dough for 8 cookies. You do the math, that is not my expertise, but I am baffled….

My icing, which in baking terms is called Meringue Powder Royal Icing should really be called a Royal Mess. First, does anyone know what meringue power is? I learned that it is really a doctored up dehydrated egg white, but it is often confused as cream of tartar. Meringue power can be found in specialty baking supply stores, not in your local grocery store. I figured that out after I went to 6 different grocery stories. What is carried (sometimes) in your local grocery store is dehydrated eggs whites, which come in a container similar to baking powder and is found no where near the eggs, but in the baking aisle. Dehydrated egg whites are a decent substitute for meringue powder, but not endorsed as a substitute by the major cooking websites.

Okay, fast-forwarding to the fun part, the icing has to be molasses-thick for optimal piping. After a few piping stalls, the icing consistency was somewhat perfected – but no where near mastered. My piping abilities are lousy at best, and as you can see from the pictures I have a lot of work to do. My creativity is also lacking and I am feeling a bit defeated. My piping experience reminded me of a coloring incident in the first grade when my first grade teacher reprimanded me for my inability to color within the lines during art class. I guess I am still a bit affected by this experience and I was a little piping-shy with my cookies. But, hopefully, with enough practice, I will have some decorative Christmas cookies!

Until next time…