Almond Meringues

Every time I make Challah bread I lament the fact that I am throwing 6 egg whites away.  I hate to waste, but egg whites?  What am I going to do with egg whites?  The go to is anything meringue.  The thing is, I just don't love meringue.  As a child my mom would make gorgeous lemon meringue pies and my sister and I would split it.  She'd take the meringue, I'd take the lemony goodness.  But, I really shouldn't waste these egg whites.  And, I should probably have something to show after a day of solitude... OK.  Meringues it is.  Meringues they are?  Hmn.

I found a recipe for more pavlova style meringues and decided to omit the toppings and add some almond extract.  This is from a British recipe, so I am using grams.  It always turns out better than trying to use a conversion.  If you don't have a scale that can do grams and ounces?  Get one.  It's really handy.

Almond Meringues

makes 24 large meringues

Ingredients 

6 Egg Whites, room temperature
1 scant teaspoon almond extract
350 grams Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Place egg whites into a large clean bowl.  Add almond extract and beat until they form soft peaks.  Add approximately 1/2 of the sugar and continue to beat. 
4. Add the remaining sugar one spoonful at a time until all is combined and the mixture forms stiff peaks.
5. Spoon the meringue onto the prepared baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Reduce the oven temperature to 225 degrees and cook for a further 2-3 hours until crisp and dry.
7. When they are cooled they can be stored in an air tight container.