Meringue Mushrooms

2 egg whites

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ cup sugar

Cocoa

Chocolate Decorators’ Frosting (below)

Cover 2 cookie sheets with heavy brown paper. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in small mixer bowl until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Do not underbeat.

Heat oven to 200°. Fit decorators’ tube with plain tip with ¼-inch opening (#10 or 11). Fill tube with meringue and fold top of bag. Hold tube upright and pipe out about 55 mushroom caps, each 1 to 1¼ inches in diameter. Sift cocoa over caps. Bake until firm, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately turn caps upside down and make an indentation in bottom of each cap. Brush off excess cocoa with soft-bristled brush.

Pipe out about fifty-five ¾-inch upright cones on second cookie sheet for stems. Stems should have peaks which fit into mushroom caps. Bake until firm, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven; cool. Prepare Chocolate Decorators’ Frosting. To assemble mushrooms, spread small amount of frosting in indentation of each mushroom cap; insert stem and place upside down to dry. Store Meringue Mushrooms uncovered at room temperature. About 55 candies.

CHOCOLATE DECORATORS’ FROSTING

Heat 1 square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate and 1 teaspoon margarine or butter until melted; remove from heat. Beat in 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon hot water until smooth and of spreading consistency. If necessary, stir in additional hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time.

 

It is a quote. Betty Crocker’s New Christmas Cookbook 1993