I never thought of myself as the type of person who would ever make meringues. I mean why bother. The only ones I’d ever eaten were the store bought kind which taste and feel like styrofoam , okay styrofoam with lots of sugar added.

And then there was the patcke element. Patchke is a Yiddish word, unrelated to it’s sound alike potch which means discipline applied to the seat of the pants. Patchke or it’s verb form Patchkeing (sometimes pronounced Patch key ing) means fussing, a dish which has too many steps, requires too many dirty dishes, demands too much time and if you’ve been loyally reading this blog you know one thing about me-I have no tolerance for patchkeying.

Simple, one step, a half step, if there is such a thing-that’s me and meringues seemed to be a product of an earlier more leisurely era. The kind of cookie one ate in a small flowered plate along with a cup of freshly brewed tea sipped slowly ones little finger dutifully sticking out as one lifted the tea cup (never a mug) off the plate.

Anyway, on Friday I discovered that i had a surplus of egg whites in my freezer and not wanting to let them sit there until Passover and then throw them out-which is of course a terrible sin, I considered what to do with them. A white omelette didn’t beckon-the last time I made one my stomach became upset (now that is something food bloggers must never speak of, tummy aches) so I leafed through my brand new second hand copy of the Joy of Cooking and discovered the wonderful recipe I”m going to present.

The Joy of Cooking is of course the granddaddy of all cookbooks, comprehensive-a bit overly comprehensive so kosher cooks like myself who are frankly a bit put off by all the pig and ham and rabbit and octopus our non Jewish brethren devour with great gusto but the baking chapters are wonderful.

The explanations are witty, well written and clear and the recipes that I have tried are usually winners.

So here’s too almond meringues.

Whip up two egg whites. Gradually add a half cup of sugar (don’t need confectioners) . When the whites form stiff peaks add a pinch of cinnamon and a half cup of slivered blanched almonds. Spoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a greased baking sheet. You can use a pastry bag if you want the meringues to look fancy, I just spooned mine hence the homemake look.

Preheat oven to 375 F (or 180C). Put in meringue kisses,

Immediately turn off oven door and don’t open again for another 11/2 hours preferably overnight. (If the meringues are still sticky in the morning bake for 10 minutes at 375 F or 180 C)

Delicious!!