Meringue Kisses, Apple Cranberry Coffee Cake

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on Speed 1 until just combined, about 20–30 seconds.

Spray baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Drop by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets. Bake until golden, about 10–12 minutes. Cool slightly

on baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.

Nutrition information per cookie:

Calories 155 (50% from fat) • carb. 18g

•pro. 1g • fat 9g • sat. fat 9g • chol. 22mg

•sod. 52mg • calc. 8 mg • fiber 2g

Meringue Kisses

Light as a cloud, these sweet little kisses are just the thing when the sweet tooth bites.

Makes 36

1tablespoon butter, melted

2tablespoons powdered sugar

4large egg whites

1⁄8teaspoon cream of tartar

3⁄4cup granulated sugar (superfine is best)

1teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

2ounces chopped semi-sweet 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 powdered 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, increasing gradually to Speed 3. Whip until soft peaks form, 11⁄2 to 2 minutes (depending on temper- ature of egg whites). Sprinkle sugar 1 tablespoon at a time over egg whites and beat on Speed 3 after each addi- tion, until stiff peaks form and mixture is shiny but not dry, about 4 minutes total.

Add the vanilla and beat on Speed 1 to blend in, 10 seconds.

Using a clean rubber spatula, fold in chopped chocolate. Drop meringue mix- ture by rounded tablespoons onto pre- pared baking sheets, or gently place it in a large pastry bag fitted with a 3⁄8-inch plain tip and pipe out “kisses”. Bake in preheated oven for 11⁄2 hours; do not peek. Turn off oven and let sit in warm oven for an additional 11⁄2 hours to dry out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool com- pletely. 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 dry day.

To make “nests” for mousse:

Draw 3-inch circles on the underside of parchment sheet. Butter and dust upper side with powdered sugar. Pipe concen-

tric circles of meringue into the 3-inch rounds. Pipe another 2 circles on the outermost edge of the meringues. Bake as directed, but increase 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.

Makes 18–24 servings

cooking spray

3cups sliced apples *

(peel, core, quarter apples, cut into

1⁄8-inch slices) juice of 1 lemon

3⁄4cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1⁄2teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1⁄2cup dried cranberries

(may substitute dried cherries, blueberries or raisins)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1tablespoon baking powder

3⁄4teaspoon salt

2cups granulated sugar

1cup unsalted butter, cut into

1⁄2-inch pieces

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 13x9x2-inch rectangular baking pan