Nutty Meringue Cookies Recipes

MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). To prevent burning you can bake on an air cushion baking sheet or put parchment paper on a regular cookie sheet.
• Beat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla until very firm. Gradually add sugar and mix. Fold in chocolate chips.
• Drop by teaspoonfuls on pan. Bake 300 degrees for 25 minutes. They should only be lightly browned.

VARIATION: NUT MERINGUE

Steps:

• Before making the meringue, whirl the almonds in a food processor fitted with the metal blade until finely ground. Add the cornstarch and whirl again. Make Meringue. Fold ground almond mixture into finished meringue by hand.
• Here, cornstarch insulates the meringue from the fat in the nuts, which would otherwise cause it to break down.
• Easy way to pipe out disks of a particular size: trace a plate or other object of appropriate size onto parchment paper. The turn the paper over and use the circles as your guide. Start piping in the center and form a tight spiral out to the edge.

DATE A NUT MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Grease a cookie sheet.
• Beat the egg whites in a large bowl on medium speed, till soft peak stage.
• Add the sugar gradually. beat till glossy stiff peaks form.
• Carefully fold in cardamom, dates and nuts.
• Drop mixture by the tablespoon onto cookie sheet.
• Bake for 10 minutes.

DATE-NUT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°F.
• In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. With the mixer on high speed, beat in salt; then gradually add sugar, about a tableshppon at a time, beating well after each addition, until whites fold stiff, glossy peaks.
• Add vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Fold in dates and walnuts.
• Drop meringue mixture by rounded teaspoonfulls onto well-greased cooking sheets, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake in a 200°F oven for 1 hour or until outside is dry and set; cookies should not turn brown.
• Let cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to racks and let cool completely. Store airtight.

WALNUT MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Grind walnuts (medium grind--not as fine as flour but not as coarse as whole sesame seeds). Purists say that a nut grinder needs to be used, but for this recipe, I find that a food processor works fine. Whip egg whites. (Alternatively, if you're in a great hurry, you don't even need to bother whipping the egg whites, in which case the cookie will be flat and smooth and chewier, and will need a bit less time to bake.) Thoroughly fold in ground nuts and sugar. Place heaping spoonfuls of mixture on 11" by 18" cookie sheet (parchment paper lined, or use a Teflon-coated one that has been lightly buttered and floured, as the batter is sticky). Space them at least 1 inch apart, as they spread when baking. There will be 24 cookies. (You can also make 48 small cookies, in which case cut the baking time about in half.) Bake in pre-heated 350F oven until golden (perhaps 20 minutes). They will still look a bit moist and raw inside-do not be dismayed! (If you bake them until they look baked inside, they will be dry and hard.) Cool 10 to 15 minutes, and remove from baking sheet. Cool another 10 to 15 minutes, then store in air-tight container, at room temperature. (If you're cautious about egg whites, store cookies in fridge but let come to room temperature before eating.) Will keep 7 to 10 days perfectly; also freeze well. They can be eaten when still warm, or when cool.