Spiced Almond Meringues

What can I say, I woke up with a sweet tooth today!  When cooking for wellness, satisfying a sweet tooth requires a bit of mindfulness.  With a bit of thought, it’s possible to indulge in something deliciously sweet without ingesting the loads of saturated fat that are lurking in many traditional dessert recipes.  For me, meringues are just the thing… delightful when I feel like a bit of sugar without inviting butter (or worse, shortening) along for the ride.

Ingredients (makes 48 meringues)

3 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup white sugar

Directions

Step 1) In  scrupulously clean bowl, beat egg whites, almond extract, and cream of tartar at high speed for 2 – 3 minutes until soft peaks form.  It’s OK if the peaks fall over at this point, when you lift the beater out of the mixture.

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Step 2)  Add white sugar and ground cloves – 1 tablespoon at a time – to egg white mixture.  Beat at high speed for 3 – 5 minutes until mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form.  When you lift the beater out of the mixture now, the peaks should stand up straight.

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Step 3)  Drop tablespoonsful of the meringue mixture onto a greased cookie sheet, leaving 1 – 2 inches between meringues.  Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Cool on a cooking rack and Enjoy!