COFFEE MERINGUE KISSES

Steps:

• 1. Heat oven to 250 degrees.
• 2. Use nonstick cookie sheets, or line regular cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• 3. In a food processor with a metal blade, process the sugar and coffee powder until the texture of the sugar becomes very fine.
• 4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and vanilla extract with an electric mixer at medium speed, until very frothy.
• 5. Add cream of tartar, and continue beating at medium speed until soft peaks form.
• 6. Increase beater speed to high, and gradually beat in sugar-coffee mixture.
• 7. Continue beating until soft peaks form and mixture has a glossy sheen.
• 8. To pipe cookies from pastry bag: Fill pastry bag (or 1-gallon freezer bag), fitted with Number 6 plain round pastry tube, with meringue.
• 9. Hold bag upright over prepared cookie sheets and squeeze out meringue, leaving pastry tip buried in meringue, until you have piped out a round about 1 1/2\" in diameter.
• 10. Lift up tip and stop squeezing.
• 11. Leave 1\" between cookies or, drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet, leaving 2\" between cookies.
• 12. Bake 1 hour without opening oven door. Turn off oven, and let meringues dry in oven 2-3 hours more without opening oven door.
• 13. (After the first hour, it\'s okay to peek just once.)
• 14. Remove the meringues from the cookie sheet with a spatula.
• 15. Store in airtight container--makes about 3 dozen.