Cheese Puffs made with leftover egg whites
Recipes like Fennel Pollen Shortbreads leave me with a fair number of leftover egg whites. Just as with leftover sourdough starter, it gnaws at me to throw these foodstuffs away. So I’ve begun to research solutions.
Make Cheese Puffs. This nostalgic recipe is from my mother’s Phi Beta Phi cookbook published in 1936. Beat two egg whites to stiff peaks and mix with 1 c shredded American cheese. Spoon onto slices of bread and heat in a 450 degree oven (I use a my toaster oven) about 8 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Check frequently to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Make coconut macaroons (NOT macarons, let’s have their moment be done). This Ina Garten recipe is one I’m going to try, though I’ll probably not use both Eagle condensed milk and sweetened coconut because that would make the macaroons too sweet. If you want chocolate bottoms, place the cookies on parchment paper on a baking sheet in the refrigerator unti good and hard. Melt some semi sweet chocolate in a double boiler or microwave dish, then dip the bottoms of the macaroons quickly in the chocolate and return to parchment. Return to the refrigerator. The chocolate should harden.
Make Chinese corn soup. Unlike egg drop soup which uses both the yolk and the white, corn soup uses the white only. Here’s a typical rendition.
Make angel food cake, which takes a lot of egg whites. Alton Brown’s recipe seems a good way to start.
I keep my leftover eggs in a leftover deli 1 cup tub, and write on the top how many and when I added them.
Incidentally, the American Egg Board confirms you can freeze eggs according to the directions here. They suggest you should freeze individual portions in ice cube trays then use as needed. If that’s too much trouble just put them in a plastic tub and mark how many are in there and the date. Top off as needed on a subsequent bake. Egg board says 2 T egg white are equivalent to 1 fresh egg white. Thaw them and bring to room temperature and they should work just fine. (Worked for me.) Be sure to use these only in recipes that will be cooked (so no unbaked meringue toppings) because of the potential for pesky bacteria.
This Disney site has more egg white and egg yolk use-up recipes including some that sound intriguing.
