Pecan Meringue Cookies

THE INGREDIENTS FOR PECAN MERINGUE COOKIES

There are only 3 main ingredients in these meringue cookies:

1. Egg whites
2. Sugar
3. Pecans

We also add a pinch of?salt?and a little?vinegar?to help stabilize the meringue cookies so they hold their shape.

HOW TO MAKE PECAN MERINGUE COOKIES

1. Before you start, you?ll want to make sure that your mixer bowl and whisk are spotlessly clean. Separate your egg whites and let them sit at room temperature for a while (about 30 minutes), and toast and chop your pecans.
2. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites in the mixer bowl and mix on medium speed until the egg whites foam up to soft peaks.
3. Slowly add the sugar, a couple tablespoons at a time, allowing for the sugar to dissolve in the egg whites before adding more. Add a teaspoon of vinegar and beat the meringue on high speed until it is glossy and has stiff peaks.
4. Gently fold in the chopped pecans. Don?t over-mix or you?ll deflate the meringue.
5. Drop spoonfuls of meringue onto a lined baking sheet. You can also pipe them using a star tip, but I find that the chopped nuts can interfere a bit with the piping so I prefer to just drop them by spoonfuls.
6. Bake for 25 minutes at 250?F, then turn off the heat and keep the cookies in the oven (without peaking!) for another 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

TIPS FOR MERINGUE COOKIE SUCCESS

Making meringue cookies is fairly straightforward, but keep the following in mind:

• Whenever whipping egg whites, make sure that your equipment is squeaky clean! Even the smallest amount of residual fat in the bowl may keep the egg whites from whipping properly. Also make sure that there are no bits of egg yolk in your egg whites. Use a piece of egg shell to fish any out if you see them.
• Humidity is not your friend. If it?s a rainy or humid day, the meringue cookies may not crisp up well. If that?s the case you may need to bake them longer.
• Are the cookies browning? Lower the heat. Every oven is calibrated a little bit differently. The heat should be high enough to set the cookie, but not so high that the meringue browns. If you see it starting to brown, lower the temp by 25?F.
• Still a little gooey inside? Let them sit out for a while?(assuming low humidity). Or bake them a little longer.