Bezy, Polish Meringue Kisses are an uncomplicated recipe. The preparation is simple. The baking and cooling need to be a slow process. So we’ll call them easy, but not necessarily quick.
The cookies, little or big (your choice) are light and airy. You can use your bezy in many ways. Add them as cake decorations or serve them with a cup of tea. It’s the perfect recipe if you have egg whites to use up after making pączki or faworki, which both use egg yolks.
Polish Meringue Kisses – Variations
- Add vanilla or other extract.
- Add sprinkles before baking.
- Add peppermint extract and pink or red food coloring. You can color the entire mass of meringue or paint stripes inside your piping bag for striped kisses.
- Spread a thin layer of jam over the top of the meringue without stirring it in. Spoon meringue onto your parchment-lined baking sheet or spoon into a piping bag to pipe onto the sheet pan.
- Sandwich two small bezy together with Nutella or lemon curd.
- Crumble your bezy and combine it with whipped cream and berries like my friend Elżbieta. This combination of flavors and textures is popular worldwide, think Eton Mess or Pavlova.
- Make vegan bezy using aqua vida
- Make diabetic-friendly bezy by using your favorite artificial sweetener. I used a mix of monk fruit and allulose that replaces sugar 1:1. I think the volume was slightly less than I got with sugar (fewer bezy), but the taste and texture were wonderful. How nice to have a sweet treat that did no more to my blood sugar than a small amount of egg white!
For Successful Preparation
- Low humidity — This is not a recipe to prepare on a humid day. You don’t need the frustration. The bezy will be sticky and chewy rather than light, crisp outside, and soft inside.
- Add sugar slowly — Add the sugar once the egg whites are foamy, but before they begin to form peaks.
- Avoid fat at all costs — Your bowl, mixer, and piping equipment, all need to be spotlessly clean. Any oil on the surface will keep you from getting the volume you’re looking for. The same is true of mix-ins. Go with fat-free options. It’s better to use an extract than a paste, a jam rather than a curd, which might deflate your meringue.
- Cool slowly – keep your bezy, Polish meringue kisses in the oven with the door closed after baking. Cool in the oven for at least an hour or until the oven returns to room temperature if you can. You’re dehydrating them more than baking them.
Smacznego!
Lois
Check out my bezy video on YouTube:
Bezy Polish Meringue Kisses
- Cook Time: 1
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Category: Desert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Polish
Description
Light and crisp outside, just a little chewy inside, delicious Polish meringue kisses!
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites, about 1/2 cup (120 ml)
- dash of salt
- 1/2 cup sugar (100 g) or sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (or other extracts)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200° F (90° C).
- In a large bowl, beat egg whites and salt until foamy.
- Slowly add the sugar, beating until the meringue holds stiff peaks. It will be thick and glossy.
- Spoon or pipe (round or star tip) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. I much prefer the look of piped kisses.
- Bake one hour for golf ball-sized kisses, 2 hours for baseball-sized kisses. Turn the heat off, keep the oven door closed, and let the bezy cool for several hours or overnight.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Add 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar or lemon juice with the egg whites to ensure a stable, fluffy, glossy meringue. (More of an American tip than Polish.)
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Alyce Masters
They are beautiful! Could I use peppermint extract for Christmas?
Thank you
Lois Britton
Absolutely, that would be perfect!
Cat
IHi Lois!
A little confused… at the start of your post, you say:
“Add the sugar once the egg whites are foamy, but before they begin to form peaks.”
But in the recipe directions you say:
“In a large bowl, beat egg whites and salt. Beat until peaks form.”
Sooo… which directions do we follow?
Thanks,
Cat
Lois Britton
Hi Cat!
Thanks for pointing this out. That what happens when a recipe is flexible and you write your post in multiple sessions. I’ll correct it to say, “Beat the egg whites and salt until foamy, gradually adding sugar, beat until stiff peaks form.”
I appreciate your help!
Lois
Chris matelskikenchris5154@gmail.com
Do we use a cold or warm bowl starting out ? What about egg whites room temperature?
Thanks chris
Lois Britton
Cold is so important in whipping cream. I found that out one time when I tried to whip room temp shelf stable cream. It was the first time I’ve had it go to butter. With egg whites, room temp is just fine and actually better than chilled.