Friday, December 12, 2008

Cinnie-Retta Cookies


This is my favorite meringue cookie. It tastes like a "real"cookie. Totally meringue meltaway though.

I've experimented a lot with meringues. The big thing is, Splenda does NOT do meringue. It doesn't get stiff. I use Whey Low which makes a great glossy stiff meringue. Splenda also looks burnt in a meringue cookie and doesn't always taste good.

Parchment paper with meringues is a necessity!

Remember, I am level 2. I use just a little bit of almond meal in this. The cookies work fine without the almond meal if you drop them in blobs or rounds. I also pipe these into pretty designs/shapes and have even used a cookie gun.



Cinnie-Retta Cookies (level 2, omit nuts for level 1)

3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar substitute (I use Whey Low)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 (scant) teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond meal (finely gound almonds)

Let the egg whites sit and come to room temperature while you do the following.

Preheat oven to 250. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl mix the cinnamon and sugar together.

In a mixing bowl combine the egg whites, almond extract and salt. Beat until soft peaks form, the peaks will curl when you lift out the beater. Resume beating and add the cinnamon sugar mixture one tablespoon at a time. Beat the egg white mixture until stiff peaks form. When you remove the beaters the peaks will stand straight up. Gently fold in the almonds, being careful not to deflate the batter.

The easiest way to make these is to drop them by rounded tablespoons onto the cookie sheets. They should be spaced about 1/2 to 1 inch apart. These cookies do not spread, the way you put them onto the cookie sheet is the way they will come out of the oven. For pretty cookies you can pipe them onto the cookie sheets.

Bake at 250 for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven, leave the door closed and let them sit in there for another 40 minutes to dry.

Remove the cookie sheets from the oven. Gently remove the cookies from the parchment paper. Store in air tight container.

Enjoye!
Foxye