From Bean Juice to Meringue
Use Chickpea Juice to Make Meringue and Cookies
I remember going through a phase where I ate chickpeas ALL THE TIME. I still enjoy them from time to time. I wondered if there was anything I could do with that juice in the can. Of course, there was! I didn’t believe you could whip bean juice into merengue, so I tried it myself. Here’s how it worked and how you can do it yourself.
What You’ll Need
- Chickpea water (aquafaba)
- Cream of tartar
- Granulated white sugar
- Vanilla extract
Step 1: Drain the Juice
Pretty obvious, right? Yes! You’ll need 1/2 cup of chickpea juice (aquafaba). Don’t throw away those chickpeas just yet. There’s a lot you can do with them. You can add them to your favorite stir fry or soup. You can add them as a side dish to your favorite meal. In recent years, the number of chickpea recipes has skyrocketed, so don’t be afraid to get out there and try them again if they weren’t so great the first time. First impressions aren’t always right; am I right?
Step 2: Get Out Your Mixer
In a large mixing bowl, add the aquafaba and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (lemon juice works also). When I was doing this, my arm started to get tired as I mixed. My mom, who has been a chef her entire life, looked at me with disbelief when I told her it wasn’t eggs in my bowl. I continued along, and so can you! My mom was impressed when the bean juice and cream of tartar produced soft peaks. These are what you’re looking for as well!
Step 3: Get Sweet!
When we tasted it, we knew something was off. It was missing the sugar! Add one tablespoon of sugar at a time while scraping the sides, continuing to mix until your creation produces stiff peaks. Once you see those beautiful stiff peaks, add in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and keep mixing for an additional minute. Your meringue should be just as good as an egg meringue without the cruelty.
The recipe I used continues to make the meringue into cookies. When I did this, they turned out beautifully.
Heat the Oven
You’ll want to heat the oven to 210°F. My batch made A LOT of little cookies, so I’d suggest preparing for that. You can get out some baking sheets and line them with parchment paper. My mother had piping bags, but if you don’t have any, you can use a big ziplock bag to pipe your meringue. While the oven is heating up, use a spatula or spoon to fill your piping/ziplock bag with your beautiful bean juice creation. If you have a ziplock bag, cut a small corner of it. Squeeze small little circles onto the baking sheets you prepared earlier. You’ll want them to be about one and a half inches thick. Make sure to leave room between the cookies to be so that they don’t turn out to be one huge mess! They will take about an hour and a half to bake. Rotate them during baking so that they all get their chance on the top!
You’re finished!
This recipe was so fun for me to try, and the cookies turned out pretty great! My mom was also impressed that no eggs were used! I used this recipe to make them, and I hope you can try it too! Enjoy!
