Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 40 pecan halves, for decoration
Preparation:
1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
2. Place room temperature egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. It is important that the bowl and whisk both be very clean, so that the egg whites whip properly. A small hand-held mixer can be used instead, but the process will take about twice as long.
3. Begin beating the egg whites on medium speed. Once they are very frothy, begin to slowly rain in the granulated sugar and salt, a tablespoon at a time.Increase the mixer speed to high. Beat the whites until they hold stiff peaks, but are not dry or crumbly.
4. Once the egg whites are stiff, fold in the spices and chopped nuts.
5. Using a teaspoon, drop small quarter-size rounds of meringue on the prepared baking sheet. Alternately, the meringue can be placed in a pastry piping bag and uniform meringue “kisses” can be piped onto the parchment sheet. Top each meringue with a pecan half.
6. Bake the meringues at 250 for 35-40 minutes. The meringues should be hard and dry to the touch, and you should be able to easily lift one from the parchment.
7. Allow the meringues to cool at room temperature. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 weeks. This recipe yields approximately 4 dozen small meringues.
