A Mini That Packs Punch

I know I promised lemons and coconut, and that is coming today just a little later… bear with me please 🙂

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They say good things come in small packages. Well!!!
I am not exactly small and petite (rather tall and ahem… :P) so I would like to meet ‘them’ – you know, whoever the jealous person/people was/were of us taller folk.

In order to get my own back whenever this phrase has been flung in my face, this is my immediate retort: “Better things come in large packages” – take that!

However, today, for the first time, I am beginning to doubt my own philosophy – no, no, do not get overly excited, it remains the same when it comes to people – I mean in terms of my baking.

As someone who is basically the only sweet obsessed girl in the family, I am always unhappily making 1/4 and 1/8 of recipes so I have always found small things quite irritating. But not when it comes to these babies. Not one bit.

These meringues remind me of those little buggies and hatchbacks which people tend to dismiss in favour of a four wheel giant because they think it won’t be as good a car. YOU PEOPLE ARE WRONG! Sorry, but I personally adore small and cute cars. Another area where my philosophy does not apply.

I am beginning to think it  mostly applies to people and rarely to hobbies and inanimate objects.

Anyway, I think you can see why this is mini meringue packs a but more punch than the usual meringues. It contains something so explosive, it sets my heart pounding. A Hershey’s kiss. A Hershey’s caramel kiss. Mwah.

This is one of the most awesome ideas I have ever had the pleasure to use. Ms Darla, from one of the most creative baking blogs I have ever had the pleasure to visit, Bakingdom, came up with this idea.

She made these gorgeous Sweet Chocolate Filled Raspberry Meringue Kisses. She filled a small meringue in the centre with a chocolate chip.
And she offers a full picture tutorial on how to do it. Though it is not necessary since basically you use a large, star tipped piping tip and pipe your meringue directly on top of the chocolate chip. That’s it. Don’t shake your heads in disbelief. It is true. I know.

Being me, I thought, a chocolate chip is cool but there could be so much more put inside a meringue. What started as a chip turned into brownie bites, mini biscuits and salted caramel in my head. But then I found this packet of Hershey’s in my cupboard and that was it. I knew.

For my meringues, it delivers a 3-flavour punch.
I used my usual mini meringue recipe which I love and trust sincerely and basically tainted it with red food colouring to make it pink and added a generous dose of strawberry essence – I add a tsp at a time approximately and keep tasting as I go along (I know, the pains of baking, honestly :P)

Next, I placed my Hershey babies (after eating the ones that fell out of the packet first!) on my baking tray. I piped.

I baked

And I devoured.

Fun right?

P.S. On the 20th of January 2012, this became an entry into the delightful Teenz’ Yummy Delight’s Valentines Day Event – check it out now 🙂

Other Entries:

• Candy S’mores Pancakes w/ White Chocolate Marshmallow Sauce – perfect for sharing with your special someone and spooning delicious marshmallow sauce together
• Raspberry White Chocolate Ice Cream – Similar to a flavour from Baskin Robbins, it is named Love Potion #31 there – coincidence or flavour destiny
• Raspberry Coconut Cake w/ Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting – Initially made for a birthday, this cake is so pretty pink, it would win all hearts – just change the writing from Happy Birthday to Happy Valentines Day
• Strawberry Ice Cream – The most romantic berry of all berries, how could such a sweet dish not be put as an entry
• Strawberry Nutella Thumbprint Cookies – Small and adorable with a nibble of Nutella in the middle, these dainty pinkies are made to be served on Valentines Day 🙂