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Cherry-Pecan Meringues

To make cookies uniform in size, scoop rounded measuring tablespoons of meringue mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Use your fingers to get all the meringue out of the spoon (it is quite sticky). Don't bake on a humid day, or your meringues may not dry.
Everyday Food, January/February 2006
  • Prep Time 30 minutes
  • Total Time 2 hours, 30 minutes
  • Yield Makes 36
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Ingredients

  • 4 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
  • 1/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla until soft peaks form.

  2. Still beating, very gradually (1 tablespoon at a time) add sugar to egg whites. Continue to beat until sugar has dissolved and stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently fold in chopped dried cherries and chopped pecans.

  3. Drop meringue mixture by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake, switching baking sheets halfway through, until meringues are dry, about 2 hours. Cool completely on baking sheets.

Cook's Note

Meringues can be stored in an airtight container, up to 5 days.

Recipe Reviews

  • czacza
    12 May, 2009

    I've made meringues for years with mini chocolate chips...I preheat the oven to baout 325 though, and turn it off once the cookie sheets are in the oven. Keep the oven door shut over night- the cookies 'dry/bake' overnight.

  • snowwhite51
    10 Jan, 2008

    I made this recipe with the one-half cup of the half-Splenda-half-sugar baking sweetener. This is a delicious, fun recipe that is a great post-Holiday treat in the frosty days of January, when you may not want be ready to give up baking but may want to lighten it up a bit. After switching out the baking sheets, each in about 45 min each, I turned off the oven and left both sheets in there for about another 45in, as the oven cooled, to get the meringues completely dry.