Meringue Santa Beards

Nope. Not kidding.

Today is the day of my work Christmas party and our mission, should we have chosen to accept it, was to bring something along for the 'photo booth'.  This is what I am taking in my work bag.

What I Used:

1 egg white

40g white super fine caster sugar

Template

[right click to save and print to your computer]

I started with a classic meringue girls base [40g of super fine caster sugar heated in the oven
and then gradually added to a whisked egg white until glossy and firm].
I then lined a tray with baking paper and drew a template beard to place underneath it:

I then used the back of a spoon to start spreading a generous layer of the meringue within
the shape of the template:

Once complete, I placed a wooden skewer at the bottom, with a good 2 inches or so covered
by the meringue to ensure it held in place:

....it was then baked in a low heat oven [around 90 degrees C] for 2 hours until crisp and easily lifted from the baking paper [add on more time if the meringue does not remove easily]:

Beats a beard cardboard cut out any day.
How have we been having Christmas without them?

Wish me luck for getting them all to the party in one piece.

Have a great weekend - we're nearly on the home straight! x