Return to the Holidays

Its been a while. I've been busy and not making anything too special but with the return to the holidays, comes also the the need to discover new and impressive recipes to try out on the guinea pigs, ahem, family and friends... For this Thanksgiving, I continued my on-going search for the perfect fat free alternative to the apple pie. My dad is a BIG fan of the apple pie, however his heart condition makes it near impossible for him to snack freely on the butter laden crusts. Every year I turn my thoughts to trying to return that joy to him. This year I think I came pretty close. I designed a meringue "nest" that was incredibly melt in your mouth light then created a ginger apple filling to go with it. When added at the last minute, you got all the great textures and tastes (almost) of apple pie. It was a crisp light crust accompanied by warm flavorful apple. HOWEVER, this is not a dessert that sits well. The shells absorb the moisture of the apple filling converting from crisp lightness to a chewier THING within minutes. Anybody with a suggestion on how to overcome this, let me know.

Apple Meringue Nests

For the nests:
2 egg whites
1/4 cup caster sugar (I  use regular sugar and spin it around the grinder first for finer granules)
pinch cream of tartar

For the filling:
4 apples peeled and cut into thin chunks
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cardmom
1 tsp crystallized ginger finely minced
1/4 cup maple sugar (more depending on how sweet you like it)

fat free whip cream (optional, and I used mimic cream)

Bring the egg whites to room temperature. Add the cream of tartar and whip at high speed until soft peaks form. Add the sugar a spoonful at a time and continue to whip until you get stiff peaks. Put into a piping bag with a big round tip (sorry I have no idea what size my tips are) and squeeze out in a long coil six 3 inch diameter discs. Go back over the edge of each disc with additional rounds of meringue until you get about an inch high wall to each nest. Feel free to make them bigger or smaller as you'd like but you want a nice depth to fill later. Bake at 200F for about 2 hours or until the nests are dry. Do not let them get any color at all. Mine look golden but really that's a because I'm a sucky photographer. They were snowy white in reality. Turn off the oven and leave in there over night to dry fully. You can make these ahead of time and store them in an airtight box in the fridge for several days. Nice huh?

For the filling, mix the apple, ginger, and spices into a heavy bottomed pot. Cook until the apples just start to soften and give off some liquid. Add the maple sugar and continue to cook until the apples have fully softened and the juices caramelize. Let cool until still warm but no longer steaming hot. Fill the nests with the apple mixture then top with whip cream as desired. Eat immediately! If you aren't having dessert right away the apple rewarms nicely later on. Do not fill until you are ready to eat.