easter dessert: meringue nests

meringue is so easy to make! you just need some muscles in your whipping arm. i found this website useful.

5 egg whites at room temperature
spoonful of cream of tartar
pinch of salt
caster sugar to taste (at least 2T per egg white but no more than 1/4C per egg white) i used about 3/4C and they were a little sweet

preheat the oven to 165C/325F and line a baking tray (or 2) with parchment paper (parchment is VERY important), lightly oil the parchment.
whip egg whites until slightly frothy and fluffy.
add the salt and cream of tartar and continue whipping until soft peaks begin to emerge.
add the sugar a couple spoonfuls at a time and continue to whisk vigorously; ensure each addition of sugar has dissolved before adding the next. you can tell if the sugar has dissolved by rubbing a touch of egg white between your fingers, if it feels gritty then the sugar has not yet dissolved.
whip like your life depends on it until you get as hard a peak as you can bear. my peaks were still floppy but my arms were so tired that i gave up.
scoop piles of meringue onto the greased parchment and create a little divet in the middle for the 'nest effect'. there won't be much spreading while baking so you can place the piles a little closer together than you would with cookies. i got 8 good sized meringue blobs out of this recipe. make sure you fluff and ruffle the surface of the blobs, this gives you a variety of crunchy and chewy and soft textures.
bake for 1 and a half to 3 hours, watching the brown-ness factor.
cool on a wire rack and then peel from the parchment.
serve somewhat immediately and fill the nest with mini eggs.