Episode Details

Does edible glitter go on meringue before or after baking? Before — and meringue is the one surface where there is no second chance. Raw piped meringue is wet and sticky, which is the best adhesion this category ever offers, and the shimmer simply bakes in. A baked meringue is the opposite: the entire purpose of the long low bake is to drive moisture out, so a finished meringue is bone dry and has nothing left to hold powder. What makes meringue different from every other surface is that there is no liquid rescue afterwards. Dried fondant takes a thin brush of water. Dried royal icing takes high-proof alcohol, because water pits it. A meringue is a dried sugar foam, and water does not reactivate it — it dissolves it. The workaround, if you have already baked, is to dip the base in chocolate and let freshly dipped, still-warm chocolate carry the shimmer instead. Recipe guidance bakes meringue cookies at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for about 60 minutes and cools them in the turned-off oven; humidity, not glitter, is what ruins them. In this episode: - Why raw piped meringue is the easiest surface in the category and a baked one is the hardest - Dana's winning round: humidity beats every technique here - The Halloween plan that fits five Saturdays, including the last one - Why a white ghost with white shimmer disappears, and what to use instead - The dipped-chocolate workaround for meringues you have already baked Who should skip it: torched meringue toppings, meringue made in wet weather, and kisses piped under an inch. MONÉGASQUE 10 gram drink glitters are on Amazon at $14.99 standard; check the listing for current pricing. Full transcript on the episode page. New questions answered every week at The Monégasque Table. **Direct answer (top):** Before baking. Glitter goes onto piped meringue while it is still raw and wet, and it bakes in. A baked meringue is deliberately bone dry and holds nothing, and unlike fondant or royal icing there is no liquid that brings it back — water dissolves a meringue rather than reviving it. Bake at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for about 60 minutes, cool in the turned-off oven, and store airtight at room temperature, never in the fridge. - 00:00 Cold open — the surface no application guide covers - 00:35 The verdict: before, and why - 01:20 What the oven does to the pigment: nothing - 02:10 Dana's round: humidity versus technique - 03:20 Why the glitter is the only thing on the tray that ignores the weather - 04:10 There is no rescue for a baked meringue - 05:00 The dipped-chocolate workaround - 05:50 Halloween: five Saturdays, and a practice batch - 06:50 Colours that read on white - 07:40 Who should skip it · Dana's Scorecard · footnote