Pistachio Meringues

Carefully separate egg whites from yolks. Tip: Break each egg over a small bowl and separate the white into the bowl, making sure that no yolk follows the white. Then transfer that white into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Put the yolk in another bowl and use it for another recipe. Repeat the process for the 2 remaining eggs. This way, if you do have some yolk “seepage” it will not contaminate your other whites!

Add cream of tarter to egg white and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and beat for additional 30 seconds. Gently fold in chopped pistachios.

Using a spatula, place meringue mixture into a large Ziploc bag. Seal bag with a small amount of air remaining inside. Carefully cut off one corner of the bag to create a 1/2 inch hole.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place a small drop of meringue under each corner of paper to help secure it to the pan. Then gently squeeze meringue from bag to form drops 1 1/2″ in diameter onto the parchment paper. Continue process to fill baking sheet, placing drops 1/2″ apart.

Place oven racks in middle 1/3 of oven. Place one baking sheet on each rack and bake for approximately 1 hour or until meringues are crispy and cooked through (they will crisp up a bit once set at room temperature). Remove meringues from the oven and then remove them from the baking sheet and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container (up to 5 days).

Nutrition Information per 1 meringue: 17 calories (yes, really), 0.7 g fat, 0.5 g protein, 2.3 g carbohydrates,