Meringue Walnuts
Meringue walnuts are a perfect snack to have on hand in case the princes of Andor drop by for a surprise visit. The royal family always expects to be “wined and dined” in Tar Valon, and of course the Aes Sedai love a good snack too. Any novices in the kitchens are sure to be experts at making these tasty treats.
Today we visit the kitchens of the White Tower to learn the secrets of these crunchy sweet treats. Laras is the woman in charge of the kitchen, and she allows the novices to teach us – being able to teach is an important skill that all future Aes Sedai should practice. We all don aprons and get to work beating the egg whites into meringue. (back in our own kitchens, I recommend an electric mixer). “Soft Peaks” means when you lift the whisk and flip it over, the curl of meringue will make a little peak that will slowly flop over to the side. “Stiff Peaks” means that when you flip the whisk over, the little peak of meringue just sits there and does not flop over. After the nuts cool down we follow the gaggle of novices out to the sparring yard and watch some of the future warders put on a show of their sword skills.
Meringue walnuts are a go-to recipe if I have two extra egg whites leftover after cooking something else. Plus, sometimes a girl just needs munchies. These are great by the handful, or on top of yogurt or ice cream. Package some up and they make a great gift. The recipe itself is easy but be aware that the nuts take a bit of “babysitting” since they need to be stirred and flipped over several times during cooking. It is worth the effort – timers are your friends! I’ve always called them meringue walnuts, but cashews work perfectly in this recipe too, and they can be mixed together for a variety.
Meringue Walnuts
Equipment
- Hand-held mixer or stand mixer (for beating egg whites)
- 9×13" baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 Egg Whites
- 1 cup Granulated White Sugar
- 1 pinch Salt
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 lb Walnut and/or Cashew Halves or Pieces
- ½ cup Butter (one stick)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Prepare an area for cooling, such as parchment paper or aluminum foil spread over a couple of cookie sheets.
- Melt butter in a 9×13 inch baking pan by placing pan in the oven. Keep an eye on this so it does not burn. If the butter starts to brown, take the pan out and put it in a heat-resistant place until the nuts are ready. (The important part is the melted butter, we don’t need the pan to be hot)
- Beat egg whites until soft peaks begin to form. A stand mixer is great, or a regular hand-held mixer works just fine too.
- Add sugar SLOWLY, then salt and vanilla. Teat until stiff peaks form and turn glossy.
- Fold in nuts and coat well with the egg white mixture.
- Carefully spread meringue-coated nuts over melted butter in pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes, stirring and turning nuts about every 8 minutes, or until butter no longer remains in pan. The meringue will start to look dry instead of gooey.
- Remove nuts from pan while still hot and spread out on the prepared cooling area. Give the nuts as much space as possible and break up any large pieces so they don’t stick together. Let cool completely before eating or packaging them.
