These wonderful vegan meringue mushrooms are a fun and festive addition to any Holiday Menu. We have loved this little special treat since a friend gave us these for Christmas 20 years ago. You can be so creative in how you present these cookies. I have given a few suggestions, but the sky is the limit. Serve them for dessert, appetizer, or use them as a center piece. They will deliver! Happy Holidays!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Aquafaba (liquid from one can of garbanzo beans)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar, (all natural cane sugar blended in vita mix)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 200 F
Drain the liquid from the can of garbanzo beans. (Set aside garbanzo beans for other use).
Pour liquid into a standing mixer. Add lemon juice and pinch of salt. Using the whisk attachment, whip the garbanzo liquid on high speed until mixture is frothy. Add the vanilla and sugar, a spoonful at a time, while whipping on medium speed. Once all the sugar is added, whip on high again until stiff peaks form. When the peaks of the meringue can stand straight up, it is ready to be piped into the shape you desire. See video for details.
Bake at 200 F for 60-90 min. or until they are completely crisp, but not brown. I like to take a cookie out of the oven and let it sit for a minute or so to see if it hardens, if it does not fully harden bake the cookies a little longer.
To assemble the mushrooms, make a little hole in the cap, fill with melted carob (or chocolate) and attach the stem. Let the carob set before serving. Dust with carob powder for a realistic look. For the dirt I used, Roma, a coffee substitute.
Note: If using icing to attach the tops to the stem, you want to be careful that the icing is not wet, as it will soften the cookie. So use very little liquid in the icing. If using melted carob chips, add a little coconut oil to make it more spreadable.
Kim
My mushroom cookies are in the oven! Can’t believe how well the aquafaba worked. Would love to see it used in coconut macaroons. Do you have a recipe for such? Kim
Ani
How exciting! Thank you for trying the recipe! Coconut macaroons is a great idea, I will work on that! Hope you enjoy the recipe:)
Dan Fickett
Chef Ani have you ever made a lemon meringue pie. That had always been one of my favorite pies. When we decided to go dairy free I haven’t seen or had a lemon meringue pie for a long time I’m no cook or anything like that but I was wondering if you could use lemon pudding in a pie crust and add this as a meringue topping. I don’t know how the pudding would survive the baking in the oven. Do you have a vegan recipe for a lemon meringue pie?
Ani
Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie is a fantastic suggestion! Yes, I think aquafaba would make a great meringue topping for the pie. I will work on finalizing a recipe and posting it in the future! Thank you so much for your suggestion! I am excited!
Nathalie
Hei Chef Ani!
Nå har jeg prøvd disse søte små soppene! Helt fantastisk!
Veldig kjekt å se på dine YouTube’s
Klem fra fine Hardanger i Norge
Tror ikke jeg kan sende et bilde her!?
Ani
Så koselig å høre fra deg. Tusen takk for hilsnen fra Hardanger. Det er et vakkert sted. Glad at soppene ble bra. ?
Sandy
Hi! I really would love your step by step vegan sponge cake please.
I see your wedding cakes and wonder how it look inside and the taste.
Please can you share your recipe? My vegan cakes do not always come out the best.
Oh and French macaroon please with the exact measurements
Chef Ani
Hi Sandy! Thank you so much for your comment! Here is a link to one of my cake recipes: https://chefani.com/strawberry-shortcake/ I am planning to come out with some more cake recipes soon.
Pilar Garcia
Hi love, do they keep well for some days? Or is it better to make and eat them just in the moment? Planning ahead if I could make some and leave them ready for christmas… So waiting to hear what do you think!!
Thanks love, big big hug xx
Chef Ani
Good question! The meringue parts of these mushrooms last well for several days. It is a little tricker if you use chocolate or icing to attach the top to the stem. I would suggest making the meringue parts ahead of time, and then attaching them just a short while before serving. The dryer the icing and chocolate or carob “glue” the better. Meringue absorb moisture. I hope this is helpful. Thank you for your support and for trying my recipes. Merry Christmas!
Noam
Fabulous!
Chef Ani
Thank you! We love these festive meringue mushrooms. Merry Christmas!