Gluten Free Cherry Meringues Recipe
Need a last minute Easter dessert idea? No problem – I have one for you! These pretty little Gluten Free Cherry Meringue nests are naturally gluten free, bite sized treats filled with chocolate whipped cream and a cherry on top.
The base of these treats is simply meringue that I scooped with an ice cream scoop and then made an indentation in the center with the back of a small spoon (I actually used a melon baller) – no complicated piping for me.
I bake my meringues in a very low heat oven for two hours until they are crispy and they can be made ahead, just store in an airtight container or food storage bag at room temperature. If you are like me and live in a humid environment, you can keep them in the oven (turned off) just don’t forget they are in there before you start preheating the oven for your ham or rack of lamb (yes, I speak from experience!)
I then whip up some heavy cream with a little cocoa powder and powdered sugar, fill the indentations and top it off with a maraschino cherry.
Did you know that you can now purchase maraschino cherries that are free of corn syrup, artificial flavorings and colors and preservative free? Yep! Several companies are now producing a much healthier maraschino; two of those companies are Cherry Man and Royal Harvest.
You may notice in my photo that the cherries are pink, not red. I used Pink Blush natural maraschinos from Royal Harvest, I love the bright pink for Easter plus Oregon Cherry Growers donates 5% from the sale of Pink Blush cherries to help find a cure for breast cancer.
These bite sized treats are perfect for portion control but I really cannot guarantee you won’t just eat a bunch of them!
Gluten Free Cherry Meringues Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- Pinch cream of tartar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 18 maraschino cherries with stems
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Put a couple of inches of water into a pan that will hold the bowl of your mixer without letting the bottom of the mixing bowl touch the water. Bring the water to a simmer. Combine the egg whites, granulated sugar, and cream of tartar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Place the mixing bowl over the simmering water and whisk the mixture until all the sugar is melted, about 2 minutes. Test by rubbing some of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger, it should not feel gritty.
- Place the bowl into the mixer and start mixing at low speed. Gradually increase the speed to high and mix until the mixture is very thick, glossy and white, 10 minutes.
- Spoon heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared pan spacing about 1 inch apart. A #40 ice cream scoop work really well for this. With a very small spoon or your thumb, make an indentation in the top of each meringue, large enough to fill with cream. Bake for 2 hours or until the meringues feel crisp and they peel off the parchment easily. Let cool.
- Pour the cream into a clean mixing bowl and sift in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Beat until stiff peaks form.
- Pat the cherries dry with paper towels.
- Spoon or pie the cream into the cooled meringue and top with a cherries.
Nutrition
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Love these. They are going on my Easter menu for sure. Thanks and Happy Easter!
Thanks Leslie, Happy Easter to you and yours!
These are beautiful! We never eat maraschino cherries because of the food coloring, I’m so excited to know there’s a place I can buy some without food coloring!!! As always, I love your recipes :)
Cassidy
Thanks Cassidy, enjoy!
Brilliant idea for shaping these with an ice cream scoop-makes me say,” Now why didn’t I think of that!”
Thanks Beverly, probably you didn’t think of it because you are not as pastry bag challanged as I am :)
Look great! Portion control never works. When I fix something like these they usually all disappear :)
Thanks and at least we try for portion control, right?
These look yummy! I had no idea other places had natural cherries, Tillen Farms is where I find mine, they also have the pink and now yellow too! All natural!
http://www.tillenfarms.com/
Hi Kate. I love Tillen Farms cherries as well, especially their Bada Bing cherries – delish!
I love meringues and especially love the look of these! My daughter has a baby shower coming up and I think I just found the perfect recipe. Thank you!
Thanks Lauire, enjoy! And congrats on becoming a grandma!
I love meringue but hate cherries. In fact I don’t like any red foods from tomatoes to raspberries, strawberries to red peppers. Nothing to do with the color but there’s something in red foods that makes me make a face like someone sucking a lemon. Except I like lemons. Go figure. Any suggestions for non-red fruits to use as a substitute in your recipe?
How about blueberries or blackberries? In fact you could try them with any fruit you like, just cut it to be size appropriate.
Hi there,
Thanks for this simple recipe. What’s your opinion on using molasses instead of granulated sugar? Also, cocoa powder makes me gassy so I avoid using it in anything. What can you recommend as a replacement to this?
Alana
You can leave out the cocoa powder, they just won’t be chocolate. You would have to use a different method if you are using a wet sweetener instead of a dry one like sugar. You would need to heat the egg whites over simmering water, boil the molasses with some water, add it and beat and then take off the simmering water and beat until really fluffy and cool. It is really a whole different recipe. How about trying it with coconut sugar? Still unrefined but granular.
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