Vanilla Bean Meringue Cookies

I love meringues.  They would probably break into my top five favorite foods I'm that obsessed.  So when I was asked to bring in a food that represented my heritage for my Child Development class I knew right away what I was going to make.  The recipe is really simple but the key to the perfect meringue is to bake them low and slow.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

 Vanilla Bean Meringue Cookies

• 3 Large Egg Whites at Room Temperature
• 1/8 tsp Cream of Tarter
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 200°F.  Next, prepare cookie sheet with parchment paper or non stick silicone pad.
• In a stand mixer beat the egg whites and cream of tarter together at high speed until soft peaks begin to form.
• Slowly add the sugar to the mixture and then the vanilla.  If needed scrape the sides of the bowl down so all the sugar is well combined with the egg white mixture.  You'll know the mixture is well ready when it appears nice and glossy.  
• Spoon mixture onto cookie sheets and bake for an hour.  Once the hour is up turn the oven off and continue to let the meringues dry out in the oven.  Depending on your oven you may need more or less time for the meringues to dry out.  I usually leave them in the oven for another hour.   
• After you take the meringues out of the oven, move them to a wire rack to continue to cool.  Once completely cool store them in an airtight container.

Feel free to experiment with flavors for these cookies as well.  One of my favorite things to do is add chocolate chips to the recipe! I've even made a mint chocolate chip flavor as well.