Vanilla or Coffee Meringue Cookies recipe

These light and fluffy cookies look beautiful when presented and are so airy that you can eat many of them without getting full. Also try dipping the bottoms in chocolate, it looks beautiful and creates a contrast between dipped and not dipped cookies. Makes about 2 dozen.

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg white, at room temperature
• 1 pinch cream of tartar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or instant-espresso powder
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant-espresso powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200F.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat the egg white, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla (or espresso powder) with an electric beater on high until soft peaks form.

3. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until the meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks.

4. Fold in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar gently but thoroughly.

5. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe 1 inch stars 1/2 an inch apart onto a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Dab some meringue under the corners of the parchment to hold it down during baking.

7. Bake until crisp and firm, about 1 1/2 hours, switching the positions in the oven every 30 minutes. They are done when they release from parchment.

8. Turn off the oven and let the cookies cool in the oven with the door slightly cracked.

Do not try to make these on a rainy day. For some reason meringue hates wet weather.

Author: Rachael Daylong

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