Gooey Meringues

You know those days when things seem to be going really well, and then just turn out not as well as you'd hoped? I had one of those, yesterday.

I was on my way to the grocery store after work, and was able to get in touch with my parents (everyone say "hi" to my parents!), and so I made sure that I was getting the right number of eggs to make the first step in a dessert I'm making for this weekend.

And, yes, if you guessed that I was making meringues, you're right. In fact, I was making a Frozen Meringue Torte, which is - in essence - 3 meringue layers with whipped cream between them. And, yes, it's frozen.

I know it sounds pretty boring, but it's really good. And it's a little crispy and not too sweet. And you can top it with pretty much anything, so everyone who is sharing it can do their own thing.

So I got home, with my eggs, and set about to make my meringues. I almost lost one of the whites, because the yolk fell into the bowl, but it didn't break, so I fished it out. I was definitely having good luck.

The mixer whipped everything up perfectly. They spread out without being too annoying. I was on my way.

So I popped the meringues into the oven (45 minutes at 275), and went about my business. When the timer went off, I turned off the oven (without looking), and wandered off for about an hour and a half to let them "dry."

I finally got back to them later last night, and - while pulling them out of the oven - decided I'd pop off one of the "extra" kind of bite-size meringues to see how they had done. It crackled around the edges. It smelled amazing. It stuck to the parchment paper.

Yeah. That's not supposed to happen. Meringues are supposed to dry up and pop off the parchment paper. So, back into the oven they went. All night. With the door propped just slightly open.

This morning they were still not as dry as I'd wanted. But they got layered in waxed paper and tossed in the fridge, anyway. I suspect dessert this weekend will be a little more chewy than it ought to be.

I plan to blame the weather.