Chocolate-Cherry Chunk Meringues

The edges of the meringues are crisp, but the center pieces are slightly soft. Don't chop the chocolate too finely or it will completely melt in the meringue.

Yield: 35 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie)

Ingredients

• 4  large egg whites
• 1/4  teaspoon  cream of tartar
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 3/4  cup  powdered sugar
• 1  teaspoon  almond extract
• 1/2  cup  dried tart cherries, chopped
• 3  ounces  unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Preparation

Preheat oven to 200º.

Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 14 x 10-inch rectangle on paper. Turn paper over; secure with masking tape.

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high, and gradually add granulated sugar and then powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Add extract; beat just until blended. Fold in cherries and chocolate. Spread batter onto drawn rectangle using the back of a spoon. Score rectangle into 2-inch squares using the tip of a sharp knife.

Bake at 200º for 2 hours. Turn oven off, and cool meringue in closed oven 1 1/2 hours or until dry. Carefully remove meringue from paper. Break into (2-inch) squares.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

42 (30% from fat)

Fat:

1.4g (sat 0.8g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.0g)

Protein:

0.7g

Carbohydrate:

7.6g

Fiber:

0.4g

Cholesterol:

0.0mg

Iron:

0.2mg

Sodium:

7mg

Calcium:

3mg