Mysterious Meringue

There is a mystery to meringue. Even though I'm sure I've seen Alton Brown explain the why and how of it, there is just something so satisfying about taking a couple of watery egg whites and turning them into shiny, smooth meringue. I decided to use some leftover egg whites and make meringue kisses to dip in chocolate today. For anyone who does not know, Meringues are little dollops or "kisses" of meringue placed on a cookie sheet and then baked in a low temperature oven until they are dry and crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I have eaten marshmallowy meringue on lemon and chocolate pies my entire life but I had never eaten Meringues before.
I first began to beat the whites by hand with a whisk, trying to tap into my female ancestors; women who had no choice but to beat whites into meringue by hand. But after a few minutes of that I grabbed the electric mixer and decided I should start working out again. When I pulled the mixer out of the whipped whites to see if they were at the "stiff peak" phase it left this design in the whites. It was so interesting looking that I ran and grabbed my camera (something I'm sure my ancestors did) and snapped this picture. I then piped them with a star tip which made them somewhat uniform with pretty curled points on top. When they were done and I first placed one in my mouth it was so light and crisp, like sugar melting on my tongue. I do not believe they will become my favorite cookie (are they a cookie?) but I will make them again just for the feel of it. Just to watch the whites turn into meringue and be thankful that I don't have to be a muscle builder to do it.