Cooking with Kids: Meringue Cookies

Forgotten Cookies (or meringues, as most people know them) are really one of the most simple-to-make desserts on the planet and are the perfect light sweet to serve during Passover. The bonus is that they’re especially fun to do with the kids. But what’s with the “forgotten” part? Well, in an alternative to baking them in the traditional way, meringues can be placed on baking sheets in a preheated 350-degree oven, then the oven is turned off and the cookies remain there overnight, where they bake low and slow—in essence, forgotten til the next morning. Now, back to making meringues with kids. The trickiest part is making sure your whites are fully separated from the yolks. Even the littlest bit of yolk (barely seen) can make these cookies a flop—quite literally. Separating the eggs is definitely mom’s job. Once that’s done, the kids can pitch in, adding the sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla, and whipping the batter into a frenzy of white fluffy goodness (we love this recipe for meringues). Then it’s time to transfer the fluff over to a plastic bag or pastry cone. My kids really like squeezing the bag to form dollops of meringue on the cookie sheet. We put then put the cookies them in a barely warm oven and “forget” about them for a few hours. It’s important that they cook all the way through so they come out crunchy and not chewy in the middle. After an hour or two, the meringues are ready to exit the oven, and need to cool completely on a wire rack. When cooled completely, we put a dollop of fresh whipped cream in a small bowl, add a layer of fresh berries, and put a meringue on top. This is a dessert no one will be forgetting anytime soon.