These make a light, crispy meringue with the richness of nuts. You can easily substitute ground pistachios or macadamia nuts for the hazelnuts in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS | YIELDS 96 COOKIES

• 8 egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 pound ground hazelnuts

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

2. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add sugar and cinnamon; beat until stiff, glossy peaks form.

3. Fold in nuts.

4. Pipe onto parchment with a pastry tube, or drop by teaspoon.

5. Bake 20 minutes, or until dry. Remove from baking sheets immediately.

Lose the Plastic

One of the top reasons that meringues are unsuccessful is that the egg whites are not stiff enough. The whites will not beat to stiff peaks if there is one iota of grease on the beaters, in the bowl, or even from a speck of egg yolk. Grease can hang on plastic even with the most energetic scrubbing, so always use glass or stainless steel bowls when beating meringues.

• Meringues
• Pecan Dainties