A Passover Treat For Everyone

Today I have a guest blogger: my co-worker Sue. It's Passover right now but I know nothing about traditional meals or dietary observations that occur during this time. But I do know Sue will probably bring in these great meringue cookies to the office. They literally melt in your mouth. You can make these anytime during Passover, which ends on Tuesday, but I think they're good the other times of the year, too!
Hi everyone. I’m from the East Coast (yes, for you regular readers of Single Guy Chef, I am the pizza snob) and was raised in a traditional Conservative Jewish family. Meaning, we didn’t eat shrimp, but neither did we go to the synagogue on a regular basis. My mother was an exceptional cook, especially the traditional meals that she prepared for special occasions and holidays. I enjoyed everything she served the family (except gefilte fish – don’t get me started on that). For Passover, she made matzo brei, brisket, kneidlach soup, tsimmes, and her famous farfel cookies – which I must say I ate raw as well as cooked. I know, I know…

So here for your dining pleasure is my favorite Passover meringue cookie recipe, which contains only Passover-approved ingredients. For those of you keeping score, that means, in addition to traditional kosher dietary restrictions (no pork, shellfish, or mixing of meat and dairy, etc.) the recipe has no bread, corn, corn syrup, soy, rice, or beans. I’ve heard these sweet little puffs of goodness described with words like “addictive,” “yumolicious” and “real tasty;” you be the judge.

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1 t vanilla extract
2/3 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2/3 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil cookie sheets and set aside.

Beat egg whites until foamy (1 to 2 minutes). Add a pinch of salt and vanilla extract. Beat until stiff peaks form. Slowly add sugar until well combined. Gently fold in coconut. Place by tablespoon dollops on oiled cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Cook for about 20 minutes – but watch that the bottoms don’t burn. Remove cookies from sheets and place on rack to cool. Makes about two dozen, depending on size of egg whites.

Note: At the folding stage, instead of the coconut, you can add mini chocolate chips or ground nuts. The recipe is pretty forgiving and fun to experiment with.

Have a good Pesach!

-- Sue