Cherry Almond Meringues

Based on a recipe from an old copy of Everyday Food, this is my version designed as a one point treat. A word of caution for other calorie counters, I have tried in other versions of meringues to use Splenda but have not had good results with more than a third substitute. (2 meringues = 1 WW pt)

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 36

Ingredients

• 4  large  egg whites, room temperature
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  almond extract
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1  cup sugar
• 1⁄3 cup dried cherries
• 1⁄4 cup  slivered almonds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Chop the dried cherries and almonds into small bits.
4. Using an electric mixer beat egg whites, cream of tartar, almond extract and salt until the eggs form soft peaks. While continuing to beat, add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat for an additional two or three minutes until sugar granules have dissolved and the eggs form stiff peaks. I found the batter to be quite sticky at this point.
5. Gently fold in the cherries and almonds into the egg mixture. Make sure you have a nice even distribution.
6. To make the meringues, you can drop the batter in rounded tablespoons onto the parchment about one inch apart. Alternately, place the batter into a large resealable bag and snip off about 3/8 inch of one tip. Pipe small mounds about the size of a medium walnut.
7. Place baking sheets into the oven and bake one hour. Rotate the cookie sheets turning front to back. If one sheet is above the other in your oven (not side-to-side) then flip the sheets as well. Continue baking until the meringues are dry, about an additional hour.
8. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the meringues to completely cool before removing them from the parchment.
9. Store in an air tight container for up to one week.