Faux Peach Pies for Two

Preheat the oven to 300°. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the egg whites in a medium glass bowl. Let them come to room temperature if they have not already. Add the cream of tartar, then beat with an electric mixer until foamy. Slowly stream in half of the sugar while beating. Add the almond extract. Once soft peaks form, fold in the remaining sugar and the chopped almonds – do this gently with a spatula. Make 2 disks on the parchment paper with the meringue. You can do this by using a pastry bag or a spoon. Make a lip around the edge with an extra ring of meringue and make a small indention in the middle to hold the peaches. Place the meringue in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Never open the door. Once the hour is complete, turn off the oven and let it sit for another 2 hours. It is very important not to open the oven at all during the whole 3 hours.

Before the baking time is up, get to work on your peaches. Peel and slice them. Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and let it brown slightly. The butter is browning when you see it foaming. This is the water evaporating and the fat browning. Delicious! Let it foam for 10-15 seconds before adding the sliced peaches, sugar, lemon juice and spices. Cook everything together to your desired degree of doneness. I like my peaches slightly crunchy; some like theirs fully soft.

Take the meringues out of the oven and fill the indent with the stewed peaches.