One of my favorite magazines Food and Drink comes from the LCBO. It is published every 2 months and I always look forward to the picking up the next edition. By far, the Christmas issue is always a favorite of mine. I give them credit as their recipes have always turned out for me and I have featured some of these recipes in my LCBO Cooking Classes at the Bayview Village location, Loblaw’s and Longo’s as well as private events. This recipe caught my eye and I hope you will enjoy making them – Christmas Treat #7 – Meringue Swirled Shortbreads.
This is a slightly fiddly recipe in the sense that if you are not used to rolling things “jelly roll” style, it can be frustrating. The meringue isn’t firm enough to not squish forward as you roll the pastry up. Most of it ends up in a log near the end. But it’s okay because enough sticks around to form a nice swirl in between the shortbread layer. Overall, it is a shortbread recipe with a delicate surprise – a meringue twist wedged between the shortbread layers. I’m giving you some “Suggestions and/or changes” options for flavoring as well as making these in other shapes – maybe I will try these again another year with my own twist.
The dough is delightful to work with and comes together beautifully. I found it best to start rolling it out on a lightly floured counter then transfer it to parchment to finish rolling out. Once I got the size I wanted on the parchment paper (about 16″ x 10″), I spread the meringue on top and used the parchment to guide rolling it up jelly roll style – this is the nerve racking and sometimes messy part. Critical to the process of getting nice clean slices is freezing it – like they said in the magazine – too much or too little time in the freezer and you will get cracking (delicious bits of baked goodness – never a bad thing, my point being – it’s baking and will be delicious regardless. So many other real things to stress us out). I followed their advice and 30 minutes worked for me. A good sharp bread knife gave me clean slices. Baking time also worked but every oven is different so please keep an eye on it.
They look pretty on the plate and I thought these would make a great addition to the 2020 series. You get about 25 – 30 cookies depending on how thin you slice – a nice haul! Wash your hands, wear a mask, socialize responsibly and download the Covid 19 application. Stay safe and we will get through this! As always – enjoy!
Ingredients
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup (125 mL) plus 1/3 cup (80 mL) granulated sugar, divided
1/4 tsp (1 mL) fine sea salt
1 cup (250 mL) cold unsalted butter, diced
2 eggs, separated and divided
1 vanilla bean seeded or 1 tsp vanilla extract
Substitutions and/or changes
Flavor the meringue with extracts or even zests – orange, lemon, lime, raspberry even almond extract
Toast some almonds or hazelnuts in a dry pan, grind them and sprinkle on top of the meringue before rolling up
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes, spread or pipe the meringue on top of the shapes and bake
Flavor the meringue or the shortbread with 1 tsp (to taste) of fine espresso powder or maple syrup/sugar
Fold any excess meringue into your favorite jam or jelly, spread on top of a sheet of puff pastry and bake for a quick and easy puff pastry tart
Pipe the meringue – small or big stars, onto a baking sheet and bake
If you bake cakes, a meringue disc the size of your 8″ or 9″ tin makes an excellent addition to a decorated cake. Spread the meringue to the desired size and bake until done
Meringue is generally baked at 275f for 30 to 35 minutes – depending on thickness and your oven temperatures – always check early
Directions
Make the dough
Combine the flour with ½ cup of sugar and salt in a food processor – pulse to mix
Add the butter and continue to pulse until you get a coarse textured mix
Add the egg yolks and vanilla – pulse, if you look at the processor bowl, you should see a distinct color/textural change in the bowl – the bottom textured (dough) portion will gradually increase as the eggs get incorporated into the flour mixture and starts to turn into a dough ball
When the ball forms, empty the contents onto the counter and bring together, cover in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes When ready to bake – bring the dough out on the counter about 10 minutes to get the chill out of it
Make the meringue – using a stand or hand mixer and the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium-high speed until fluffy but firm, 2 to 3 minutes
Reduce the speed and add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla, increase the speed and whisk until stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes
Put it together – roll dough on a lightly floured surface to approximately 12 inches long – use the rolling pin to transfer it to a lightly floured piece of parchment – continue rolling until you get to about 16” x 10”- trim to square the edges
With the long edge of dough parallel to your body, spread the meringue evenly leaving a 1” border meringue free
Using the parchment as a guide, start to roll the dough – it may get messy and you may get cracks in the dough – wipe off the excess and lightly pinch the cracks – keep using the parchment as you roll. By the time you get to the end of the roll you will probably have a load of meringue that has pushed its way in front of the roll, just scrape this off and return it to the bowl – see suggestions for other uses of this meringue
When you get to the end of the roll, fold the parchment paper and using a bench scraper or the edge of a rounded-edge spatula, push the top piece of parchment between the rolled up dough and the parchment – like when you make slice and bake cookies, this tightens up the roll and gives you a consistent size for even cookies
Place in the freezer for 30 minutes
Five minutes before removing from the freezer, pre-heat the oven to 325f, line your cookie tray with parchment and set aside
Remove at the 30 minute mark and immediately start slicing on the bias in ¼” slices
Arrange cut slices on the trays – they will spread so leave 1” space between them
Bake for a total of 16 – 18 minutes rotating trays at the 8 minute mark
The meringue should be lightly golden and the cookie set
Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely
Keep in an airtight container in the fridge, bring to room temperature before serving
