Sweet Kiss

Meringues make any table more festive, and their short ingredient list - egg whites, sugar, and vanilla - suits both Passover and Easter tables. But the crisp, airy quality that makes meringues so appealing also makes them fussy. They like cool, dry days without a trace of moisture. If the weather is humid or rainy, this simple mixture, shaped into little mounds, will look fine when it emerges from the oven but turn sticky in minutes. Professional bakers avoid this by boiling a sugar syrup to pour into the whites or heating the entire mixture; that trick helps to prevent the chewiness, whatever the temperature outside. But we prefer to take our chances with the simple, old-fashioned method we learned from one of America's great bakers, the late Paula Peck. Her cookbook, The Fine Art of Baking, which was published in 1961, instructs the cook to beat the egg whites until soft, add part of the sugar, and beat until stiff . Then fold in the remaining sugar and shape the batter into mounds. We always let the meringues sit in the oven overnight, so they become extra dry. Then we watch the weather report.

MERINGUE KISSES
SERVES 8

You can flavor plain meringues. With the last addition of sugar, add a few drops of strong coffee, a few tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, chocolate chips (see right), 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut, or 1 cup ground toasted walnuts or almonds.

5 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar Confectioners' sugar (for sprinkling)
1 cup heavy cream, stiffly whipped with 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (optional)

Set the oven at 200 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mixer, combine the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks.

Gradually add 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating constantly. Continue beating until the meringue is very stiff . When you lift the beaters from the meringue, the points should hold their shape.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the remaining granulated sugar into the whites.

Use two small spoons to shape mounds of meringue on the baking sheets, or use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip to pipe mounds of meringue onto the sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and insert a wooden spoon into the oven to cool it off . Let the meringues sit for at least 4 hours, with the oven door ajar, or for as long as overnight (the longer the better).

Store the meringues in an airtight container.

To serve: Arrange the meringues on a platter and sprinkle generously with confectioners' sugar and serve, or use a dollop of the whipped cream to sandwich two meringues together, flat sides facing. Arrange on a platter on their sides and sprinkle generously with confectioners' sugar.

CHOCOLATE-CHIP MERINGUE KISSES
SERVES 8

1 recipe meringue kisses
1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips or 1 cup finely chopped bittersweet chocolate

Make the recipe for meringue kisses, folding the chocolate into the whites with the last addition of sugar.

Use two spoons to make mounds of meringue (these will not go through the pastry bag). Bake as directed.

APRICOT DACQUOISE
SERVES 4

Dacquoise is a nutty two-layer cake made with meringue. This one contains browned almonds and is filled with a puree of apricots. For many years, it was a specialty of the Cordon Bleu school in London.

MERINGUE
3/4 cup unskinned or skinned whole almonds
1 cup granulated sugar
4 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Set the oven at 350 degrees. Spread the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Brown the nuts, turning them several times, for 8 minutes or until you can smell their aroma; set aside to cool.

Turn the oven down to 275 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use an 8-inch cake pan and a pencil to mark a circle on each paper. Turn the papers over so the pencil marks face down.

In a food processor, grind the nuts with 2 tablespoons of the sugar.

In a mixer, beat the whites until they hold stiff peaks. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining sugar with the cream of tartar. Continue beating until the whites are very stiff and glossy.

Fold in the remaining sugar with the nuts.

Divide the meringue between the baking sheets. Use a metal palette knife to spread the meringues onto the 8-inch rounds, keeping them inside the pencil circles.

Bake the rounds for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until they are firm and dry; set aside to cool.

APRICOTS
1 cup dried apricots Pared rind and juice of
1/2 lemon
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream, softly beaten with
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar Extra confectioners' sugar (for sprinkling)

In a saucepan, combine the apricots, lemon rind and juice, sugar, and water. Set over medium-low heat and cook just until the sugar dissolves.

Simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the apricots are tender. Add more water to the pan if the mixture seems dry. Remove the lemon rind.

Transfer the apricot mixture to a food processor. Puree until smooth.

Peel 1 meringue round off the parchment paper. Set it fl at side down on a cake plate. Spread the whipped cream on top. Dot the cream with the apricot puree. Set the other meringue round on the whipped cream flat side down. Sprinkle the top with confectioners' sugar.