To make meringue ghosts, you will need:
Ingredients
2 egg whites, room temperature
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup toasted nuts or coconut
Create Meringue
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the room temperature egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat until the egg whites are foamy. Or if you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer instead.
Once foamy, turn the mixer off, add the cream of tartar, and then beat it on medium-high until the whites have turned an opaque white color and hold soft peaks. At this point, start adding the powdered sugar a few spoonfuls at a time with the mixer running on high.
Once all of the sugar has been added, add the vanilla extract and turn the mixer to the highest speed. Continue to beat the egg whites until they are very thick, glossy, and a shiny white color. When you stop the mixer and lift the whisk out of the whites, the whites should have a very stiff peak. This process will take about 7-12 minutes in a stand mixer.
Pipe Meringue into Ghost Shapes
Scoop your meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with a ½ inch round tip, or if you don’t have this, into a large Ziploc bag with a ½ inch hole cut in the corner.
To make ghost shapes, pipe the meringue into spirals, starting out in a larger circle and getting smaller as you go up, ending with a little peak at the top. If you make large ones, like me, you'll end up with a dozen ghosts about 3 inches tall. If you make smaller ones you can have as many as two dozen.
Bake the Meringue Ghosts
Bake the meringues in the 200 degree oven for an hour. After an hour, open the oven door and continue to cook for 30 minutes, then turn the oven off, close the door, and allow the meringues to sit until completely cool, about 1 hour.
Add Chocolate Decorations
Once the meringues are cool, melt the chocolate in the microwave. Dip the bottom of a ghost in the chocolate, then dip it in the nuts or coconut and let it harden at room temperature. Finally, place some melted chocolate in a plastic bag with the corner snipped off and give each ghost two dots for eyes and a scary mouth.
These light and crispy meringue ghosts can be stored for up to a week at room temperature, but they're so good I'll bet they won't last that long.
