It’s been a tradition of mine to give the children in my son’s class a head start on their Halloween sugar rush by sending cupcakes to school. Jimmies are involved, as are pumpkins, black cats, witches, skeletons, aliens, and the occasional bloodshot eyeball.
This year I wanted to do something different, I thought it would be fun to make meringue ghosts to decorate the cupcakes.
Ghost Meringues
- 2 large egg whites (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 pinches of salt
- 2 pinches of cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup of superfine sugar
- chocolate chips
- 1/4 teaspoon of Crisco
- Preheat oven to 200º
- Combine egg whites, salt, cream of tartar and vanilla, beat with an electric mixer on high speed until it holds soft peaks. Add 1/4 cup of superfine sugar, a little at a time, until meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks. Fold in remaining sugar.
- Transfer meringue to a pastry bag without a tip. (If you don’t have a pastry bag, use a quart size freezer bag and cut the corner off.) Pipe ghosts on a parchment lined cookie sheet, pulling up at the end to make the peak on the top of their heads. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until meringues are dry and crisp, and release easily from parchment paper.
- Take 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips and Crisco and place in a ramekin. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring with a toothpick after each time, until the chocolate is melted. Dip a small paintbrush in melted chocolate and paint on the eyes and mouth.
- I made sixteen ghosts, you may make more or less, depending on the size. You can do them a week ahead of time, just make sure you store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
