Brielle's Avalon

Mom used to make these when she had leftover egg whites when another recipe called for egg yolks. She also made them for special occasions. I’m using 3 whites, but adjust as needed if you have more or fewer whites.

If you make the egg yolk cookies first the oven will be warm for these and you can leave them in as long as they need.

Before you start make sure there is no trace of grease or oil on your bowl, mixer blades, whisk, spoon or anything else you use to whip the whites. Oil & egg whites don’t make good, lofty meringue.

3 Egg Whites

1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar

3/4 c Powdered Sugar (basically 1/4 c sugar per eggs white)

1 tsp vanilla

Beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar.

Beat until they form soft peaks. Add the sugar 1/4 c at a time, pouring in as you beat. Add the vanilla in between sugar additions.

Beat until they hold stiff peaks.

Put a sheet of waxed paper on a cookie sheet. use a dab of meringue under the corners to keep it in place.

Fill a pastry bag with meringue and pipe little mounds of meringue onto the waxed paper. If you like you can make little flat bits to use as crackers.

If you don’t have a pastry bag you can just spoon meringue into cookie mounds. If you add chocolate chips this is probably the easier method.

Bake at 200 for 1 1/2 hours or so, then let finish drying in the oven as it cools.

Food colouring, different flavouring extracts, chocolate chips, nuts, broken peppermints or other hard candies are all options. Any variation you feel is appropriate for any holiday like Christmas, New Years Eve, Birthdays, 4th of July, Wedding or Baby Showers, Bastille Day… If you pipe them into little cups you can put fruit, jam or other fillings in them. Just don’t add this until they’re ready to serve, you don’t want them getting soggy.