Recipe: Korok Seed Meringue Cookies

Breath of the Wild has been out for nearly 2 years, but I didn’t get to play it until the first of the year. My husband and I have a vow to play all Zelda games together, so we waited dutifully. January is dead for pastry workers, though, so it was the perfect time.

Since the game has a fairly robust cooking element, a lot of recipes for in-game foods have been made. Check out Lvl 1 Chef’s monster cake recipe, for example! I decided most of these foods had been done by my fiction food buds and that I had no choice left but to get weird with it.

For those who don’t know, throughout Breath of the Wild you have the chance to discover Koroks. There are 900 of them scattered throughout the game. When you find one, they give you a little golden seed that can be traded for inventory spaces.

To those who do know… look me in the eye. We both know I’m making a recipe for Korok poop. Lean into it with me and don’t ask too many questions, okay?

This recipe made me ask some interesting questions… namely, what would Korok leavings taste like? After a long debate I landed on the perfect answer: sakura leaf powder. It isn’t a very well known ingredient in the West, but sakura leaf powder has a distinct cherry blossom flavor in addition to a grassy, earthy finish reminiscent of green tea. I mean, the Koroks live under a giant cherry tree. They’re tree babies. It’s basically perfect.

If you can’t obtain this ingredient, never fear! Chai is a delicious alternative flavor. Also earthy, but kinda spicy? You don’t need to think about this for too long.

KOROK SEED MERINGUES

Timing notes: The baking and drying time on these is long, so I recommend beginning the day before.

Yields: 60+ small meringue kisses.

200g (1 cup) white sugar
4 large egg whites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2g (scant 2 tsp.) cherry/sakura leaf powder OR 2 tbsp leaves from chai tea bags, ground to a fine powder in a spice grinder
Edible gold powder

1. Place a large round piping tip into a piping bag. Line a half sheet pan with parchment. Heat your oven to 180°F/80°C.
2. In a stand mixer (or large bowl with a hand mixer), whip the egg whites and cream of tartar together until foamy. Continue to mix, gradually pouring in the sugar. Whip until you acheive stiff peaks, then add in the sakura powder or tea and whip until just combined. Fill the meringue into your piping bag.
3. Pipe the korok seeds onto your parchment. To acheive the right shape, I found it worked best to pipe with the tip lifted about 1/2″ from the surface of the tray to make a smooth bulb. Once you’ve formed a bulb, stop applying pressure to the bag and lift it off to one side, flicking it in the opposite direction to direct the peak. See images below for a visual aid on meringue texture and piping method.
4. Bake meringues for 2.5 hours, then turn off the oven WITHOUT opening it. Allow the meringues to dry in the oven for 3 hours or overnight.
5. The meringues should slide easily from the parchment after dry. Use a paint brush or clean fingers to rub/dust them with edible gold powder. Store immediately in an air-tight container to avoid the meringues becoming sticky.

These sweet little meringue kisses are delicious are guaranteed to be a great gift for any Breath of the Wild fan with a sense of humor. You can use the same mix to make a single Hestu’s Gift cookie like I did, and you don’t even need to make 900 normal ones to do it.

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