Pumpkin Spice Meringues with White Chocolate Ganache Filling

Fall is upon us, and we are now in pumpkin spice season! Yahoo! Fall is by far my favorite time of year. I love everything from the decor and candle scents, to the weather and of course…. the desserts. I wanted to join in on the all the fall baking fun and this is what I came up with. I see macaroons, pies, cakes, cookies etc… But I haven’t seen many meringue sandwiches.

This is a pretty easy recipe, but it is time consuming. Those that are familiar with baking meringues, know there’s lots of waiting around. But they are so worth the wait! Here’s what you’ll need:

• Ingredients for Meringue
  • 5 egg whites
  • Pinch of cream of tartar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • Orange, green and brown food coloring
• Ganache
  • 12 oz (1 bag) white chocolate chips
  • 8 oz heavy cream
  • Orange, green and brown food coloring

• Method
  • Preheat oven to 175 F
  • In a mixer whisk egg whites on medium speed until they have a cloud like consistency (5-7 minutes)
  • Add sugar a tbsp at a time and continue to whisk until sugar is dissolved
  • Add vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice, mix until incorporated
  • Continue whisking until you have stiff peaks
  • Separate 1 1/2 cups of mixture and place in bowl
  • Add orange food coloring and a touch of brown food coloring to larger portion
  • Add green food coloring to separated portion
  • Spoon meringue into piping bags fitted with nozzles of your choice
  • Line baking sheets with parchment paper
  • With orange mixture, pipe circles of meringue about 1 1/2 inches wide onto parchment lined sheets 30 bottoms, 30 tops
  • When piping the tops of the pumpkins be sure to swirl the meringue back on top of itself for added height
  • With green mixture, pipe stems, leaves and vines on the pumpkin tops
  • Bake for 2 hours (don’t open the oven while baking)
  • While meringues are baking, make ganache. In a saucepan, heat heavy cream over medium heat, removing from heat just before it simmers. Pour hot cream over white chocolate chips in a heat safe bowl and whisk until smooth
  • Add orange and brown food coloring to ganache to match meringues. place in fridge to firm
  • After 2 hours, turn oven off and let meringues cool in the oven for up to 4 hours
  • Pour ganache mixture into a mixing bowl and whisk until the texture is that of a whipped frosting
  • Spoon into piping bag and begin filling and assembling pumpkins
  • Serve at room temperature and store in the fridge

There you have it! Easyish, melt in your mouth ganache filled meringues. Not only do they taste like heaven, but they look adorable sitting on the counter. So give it a shot! You’ll be glad you did! This recipe won’t disappoint. Happy Fall! Until next time!