Meringue Kisses, Apple Cranberry Coffee Cake

Meringue Kisses

Light as a cloud, these little kisses are just

the thing when the sweet tooth bites.

Preparation: 15 to 20 minutes, plus baking and resting times.

Makes 36 kisses

1tablespoon butter, melted

2tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

4	large egg whites
¹/8	teaspoon cream of tartar

¾cup granulated sugar

(superfine is best)

1teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

2ounces chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (¹/8-inch chop)

Preheat oven to 225°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Brush the parchment lightly with the melted butter, then dust with confectioners’ sugar, shaking off excess sugar.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium mixing bowl. Start mixing the egg whites and cream of tartar on speed 1/Low, increasing gently to speed 5/High. Whip until soft peaks form, 1½ to 2 minutes (depending on temperature of egg

whites). Sprinkle sugar 1 tablespoon at a time over egg whites and beat on speed 5/High after each addition, until stiff peaks form and mixture is shiny but not dry, about 4 minutes total. Add the vanilla and beat on speed 1/Low to blend in, 10 seconds.

Using a clean rubber spatula, fold in chopped chocolate. Drop meringue mixture by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets, or gently place mixture in a large pastry bag fitted with

a 3/8-inch plain tip and pipe out “kisses”. Bake in preheated oven for 1½ hours; do not open oven. Turn off oven and let sit in warm oven for an additional 1½ hours to dry out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Nutritional information per “kiss”:

Calories 26 (19 from fat) • carb. 5g • pro. 0g

•fat 1g • sat. fat. 0g • chol. 0mg • sod. 8mg

•calc. 1mg • fiber 0g

Tip: Meringues are best when made on a dry day.

To make “nests” for mousse:

Draw 3-inch circles on the underside of parchment sheet. On the cookie side, butter and dust circles with confectioners’ sugar. Pipe concentric circles of meringue into the 3-inch rounds to form the base. Pipe another

2 circles on top of the outermost edge

of the meringues. Bake as directed, but increase both the baking and resting time to 2 hours. Makes 4.

Apple Cranberry

Coffee Cake

This versatile cake can be served as a breakfast or brunch cake, or warmed for dessert and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream.

Preparation: 15 minutes, plus baking time. Makes 18–24 servings

cooking spray

3cups sliced apples*

(peel, core, quarter apples, cut

into ¹/8-inch slices) juice of 1 lemon

¾cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg ½ cup dried cranberries

(may substitute dried cherries, blueberries or raisins)

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾teaspoon salt

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract