Coconut Meringues

Something sweet after dinner is nice, but the types of cookies that we tend to favor are hardly Weight Watchers points friendly. Additionally, we’ve banked quite a few frozen egg whites from the last several months of our cooking adventures. And eggs whites are a great place to start when you want a lighter dessert.

Dan actually made them, and he adapted this recipe from Cooking Light. (Thanks Missy for inspiring me to take a much closer look at the magazine–I actually have two recipes from recent issues I’ll be making in the next week!) They turned out just the way I like meringues: a crisp exterior with a softer inside. And the richness of coconut makes them feel like real dessert.

Coconut Meringues
Makes about 52 cookies; 1.5 Weight Watchers points per 2 cookies

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 large egg whites (that’s 180 grams of egg whites for anyone who batch freezes like us)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup flaked unsweetened coconut (CI calls for sweetened, but I think that really would be overkill)

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream of tartar, salt and egg whites and mix on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Increase the speed to high, and gradually add the sugar a tablespoon at a time and beat until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla and continue to mix until just combined. Using a large spatula, gently fold in the coconut.

If you have a pastry bag, go ahead and load it with the meringue mixture and pipe it out in fun little mountain tops like Dan did. Or you can just drop the cookies from a generously loaded tablespoon. Either way, make sure the meringues land on a silicone mat or parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake them for 60 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through the cooking time, and then let cool and crisp up for 30 minutes. They keep well for a couple days in an container.

Here’s how they look coming out of the oven–pretty much the same as when they went in.