Vegan Meringue Kisses, the perfect little festive treat! These cute little desserts would look great in a gift box or on a dessert platter at a festive party.
Since discovering aquafaba, I’m constantly amazed at what it can do. A few months ago, we made the BEST vegan mayonnaise ever (including garlic, obviously) using aquafaba, and you REALLY wouldn’t know the difference. It’s like the most versatile vegan replacement I’ve found.
When I first started Lauren Caris Cooks, it was a non-vegan baking blog. I’d been into baking and cakes for about as long as I can remember, and thought I might even start my own cake business one day. Going vegan and changing the theme of this blog was one of the best decisions I ever made, but obviously baking and veganism aren’t exactly two things that go together very well.
That’s why when I find things like aquafaba, that make it so easy to create things like vegan meringue that look and taste exactly like regular meringues that are made using egg white, I get a little bit too excited…
Seriously, showing people how EASY it is to create exciting, fun food that is vegan is so important to me. I find the most common reason people say they wouldn’t or don’t want to go vegan is that they don’t want to give up certain foods. Things like vegan meringue go a long way in proving that going vegan does NOT mean giving up anything you love, there’s always a way ;)
These cute little vegan meringue kisses are SO easy to make, there’s just 3 ingredients, plus anything you’d like to decorate them with. I kept it really simple for the decoration with a little bit of gel food colouring to make the pink stripy ones (full instruction on how to do this are in the recipe notes section below), then some drizzled dark chocolate, some nuts and cocoa powder! You don’t even need a piping nozzle to make these, just chop the end of your piping bag off!
I’ll definitely be giving away lots of these as gifts this Christmas, and I know your friends and family will love them too!
Don’t forget to bookmark the Vegan Advent Calendar 2016 page, and come back everyday until the 24th December at 4pm for a new festive, vegan post!
| Prep Time | 25 minutes |
| Cook Time | 70-90 minutes |
| Servings |
kisses |
- 1 x 14oz/400g can chickpeas Water only
- 140 g Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Cream of Tartar
Ingredients
| |
- Preheat the oven to 100°C. Strain the can of chickpeas and reserve the water. Store the chickpeas in an airtight container in the fridge and use for whatever you like. Place the chickpea water in a very clean, dry bowl.
- Using an electric whisk or stand mixer (with the balloon whisk attachment) beat the chickpea water on a high speed for 5 minutes. Then, add the sugar in 3 additions, beating on high inbetween each addition until it is completely incorporated.
- Once the sugar is incorporated, sprinkle the cream of tartar over the top, and beat on high until the meringue is smooth, glossy and forms stiff peaks.
- Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and chop the end of the bag off with about a 2cm opening. There is no need for a piping nozzle for the round kisses. Line a flat baking tray with parchment paper. Then hold the piping back perpendicular to the baking tray and pipe a blob of meringue about 2 inches in diameter and then stop squeezing the bag and lift to create a point. Do this until all the meringue has been used up, leaving a gap between each meringue.
- If using nuts on top, sprinkle these on before baking. Bake for 70-90 minutes, or until the meringues are hard on the outside the whole way down. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the tray, they should peel off very easily once cooled.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days.
To make the pink coloured meringues, before you add the mixture to the piping bag, use a kebab stick to add some gel food colouring around the bag, then close the bag so it's flat and press it down to spread the colour around the bag a bit. It doesn't need to be in straight lines. Then add the meringue and as you pipe, the mixture will pick up some pink colouring on the outside of each kiss. Bake as normal.
About Lauren Caris
Lauren is the author and chef of the vegan food blog, Lauren Caris Cooks. She is passionate about showing people just how awesome vegan food can be with simple, delicious recipes and vegan lifestyle tips.
Hello Laurent, tengo una duda, el agua q se utiliza, q es el agua resultante de cocer los GARBANZOS?
Gracias desde España!!
Typically you should use at least 2-3 times that mass of sugar. If anyone encounters these melting when you go to bake them (I know of one person using this recipe who has), increase the sugar.
Could I use the water from my own cooked chickpeas? If so, what’s the amount?
I’d love to have a good use for my chickpea water!
Hi Jessica, yes you absolutely can! You need to boil it down a bit further so it thickens a bit. Here’s a great guide: https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/national/aquafaba-chickpea-water-diy-soak-dried-chickpeas-vegan
Yup. That’s what I do. Just make sure you don’t add any salt and strain the water. Boil 1 cup chickpeas in water. Once they are cooked, strain and reduce the liquid to 140-150 mils of water. Chill and use
I’m really love your meringue kisses. It is so cute and pretty. May I know if I changed the sugar to maple syrup would it make a difference? Beside this, I hv tried and turn out my meringue stringed after bake :( do you know the reason
Hi Teh Yee, I don’t think you could replace the sugar for maple syrup, I haven’t tried it myself. And it’s hard to say why they didn’t work without actually being in your kitchen with you. I would make sure you whip the aquafaba enough before you start adding the sugar.
Hi Emily, I use a regular 14oz/400g tin. I just drain the can and use all the liquid that comes out.
So it’s is not essential to leave the meringues in the oven to cool? Many other meringue recipes call for that. I am hoping your directions work because I’d love to have my oven free after baking!
Hi there! Well, I’ve never left them in the oven to cool and they always turn out great! I think the key is making sure they are definitely cooked when you take them out of the oven, I normally give them a poke and as long as the outer shell is hard from the top to the bottom, I bring them out to cool. If they still feel a bit spongey on the bottom, pop them back into cook for another 10 minutes or so then keep checking until they are nice and crispy!
Awesome! You made my cookie baking day!
Yay!
What size can please? We have smaller and larger ones!
I cut about a 1-2cm hole in the bottom of the piping bag, and pipe so the bottom of the meringue is around 1-2 inches in diameter. However you can pipe them whatever size you like, they might just take a bit longer to cook. You’ll be able to tell if they are done when the outside of the meringue is hard all the way from the top to the bottom
I had to visit to say how much I adore the photography in this post! Aquafaba is amazing stuff and I love baking and cooking with it – these kisses are divine. Pinning them EVERYWHERE
Thanks SO much Lucy!! Aquafaba is seriously amazing. I can’t wait to try some macarons in the new year!
And this is absolutely stunning!!! Aquafaba is such a great ingredient and I can’t believe how many great things you can create with it! These meringue kisses are the prettiest thing I’ve seen around!!! So festive! x
You’re so kind Anna! Aquafaba is totally amazing, I’m excited to try macarons with it next year!!
This recipe is seriously so creative! And I LOVE the festive colors and decor. Amazing work, Lauren!
Thanks Nisha!! You’re so kind :)
O these are so cute! Yay for aquafaba!
Thanks Rebecca! Yes aquafaba is AMAZING!!