Tasty Tuesday Recipe - Meringue Cookies

This recipe is a bit labor intensive but is well worth the effort. These little melt in your mouth goodies are only about 30 calories each! You can mix in any number of ingredients to have a different cookie each time. Try crushed peppermint instead of chocolate chips, or toffee bits, crushed butterscotch candies, or you can even try different extracts for an entirely different flavor. One tip is to place the batter into a cake icing bag and squeeze these out onto the pan in a "kiss" shape.


Meringue Cookies

4 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups baker's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups of mini chocolate chips

Cover 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they hold very stiff peaks. Add the salt. While beating at a high speed gradually add the sugar in a stream to incorporate. Add the vanilla. Fold the mini chocolate chips in very gently by hand. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Because this is a stiff batter they do not need a lot of space between them - they have already done their rising. Bake them in a 170 degree oven for about two hours, or more. Cool on racks before storing. For added sweetness you can dust the tops of these with a little powder sugar. Can be stored in the fridge (in an air tight container) for up to two weeks or store them in the freezer for 3 months.