Suspiros (Meringues)

Suspiros are a Portuguese meringue cookie traditionally flavored with lemon. The following is a standard meringue recipe, except that I flavored it with coffee extract. Be careful not to use an oil-based flavoring, and don’t let any yolk into the whites.

Dominos makes superfine sugar, but it’s cheaper to run granulated sugar through a food processor (if you have one).

Yield varies by cookie size.

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• ¼ tsp. cream of tartar
• ¾ c. superfine sugar
• ¼ tsp. coffee extract (or vanilla extract, or omit entirely)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200° with convection (225°F without).
2. Beat egg whites to a foam.
3. Add cream of tartar.
4. Beat egg whites to a soft peak.
5. Add sugar gradually while beating to stiff peaks.
6. Beat in extract.
7. Test for readiness by rubbing some meringue between your fingers; it should not be gritty.
8. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.
9. Pipe or spoon lumps of meringue of the desired size onto the cookie sheet(s).
10. Bake 1 ½ hours or more.
11. Turn oven off but let meringues cool in the oven for two more hours or overnight.