Date-Nut Meringues

Description: From Sunset "Cookies" (1985). I personally cook meringues on parchment paper rather than the recommended greased cooking sheet. The dates make chewy meringue.

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 1 dash salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon rum extract
• 1 cup dates, pitted and snipped
• 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 200°F.
2. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. With the mixer on high speed, beat in salt; then gradually add sugar, about a tableshppon at a time, beating well after each addition, until whites fold stiff, glossy peaks.
3. Add vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Fold in dates and walnuts.
4. Drop meringue mixture by rounded teaspoonfulls onto well-greased cooking sheets, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake in a 200°F oven for 1 hour or until outside is dry and set; cookies should not turn brown.
5. Let cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to racks and let cool completely. Store airtight.