Cherry Almond Meringues - cooking recipe

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

Preparation

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Chop the dried cherries and almonds into small bits.
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.
Gently fold in the cherries and almonds into the egg mixture. Make sure you have a nice even distribution.
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.
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.
Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the meringues to completely cool before removing them from the parchment.
Store in an air tight container for up to one week.