Erin used to make these all the time at Dad’s request. These are his favorite cookie. My favorite memory of them, however, is from a camping trip. We normally went to the lake in the summertime for our family vacation, but this time it was in October down at Pine Creek Lake in SE Oklahoma. I was very serious about fishing, so I’d get up crazy early to get ready to go some days while the other girls were still sleeping. They would go too, but I just couldn’t wait to get up and be ready—if you know how much I like my sleep, you’ll know just how much I love to fish.
It’s possible we’d sneak a couple (several) with our coffee those cold fall mornings before we’d take the boat out to fish. I very clearly remember watching the sun coming up while standing outside (it was too cold to sit down on the concrete picnic bench) on a very chilly morning, just Dad and me, eating these cookies, drinking piping hot coffee (yes, my love of coffee goes way back), and listening to the sounds of the morning. The mist coming up off the water in the early morning is a sight everyone should see.
As you might guess from the name, these cookies do indeed melt in your mouth, and they are absolutely incredible if you make sure to let them brown up juuuust a bit. That’s what gives them their slightly toasted flavor that takes them from the pretty darn great to heavenly – especially with a steaming cup of coffee. ~Robin
Ingredients:
- 4 medium egg whites
- 1 ½ c. sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract (substitutes not recommended)
- 1 ½ c. shredded sweetened coconut (I like Baker’s) Link: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/products/bakers-sweetened-angel-flake-co-29.aspx
- 1 c. finely chopped pecans
Instructions:
Heat oven to 325°F.
Line a baking sheet with brown wrapping paper (can be found at any craft store) OR a brown paper grocery bag cut to the size of the baking sheet (non-printed side up—you don’t want a grocery logo on your cookies).
Beat egg whites just until they’re frothy. Gradually beat in the sugar. Continue to beat with mixer until it forms very stiff peaks when you raise the beaters out of the mixture. Will have a glossy appearance as well.
Gently fold in salt, vanilla, coconut, and pecans.
Drop heaping teaspoons of dough 2” apart on the paper.
Bake about 20 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
Immediately upon removal from the oven, carefully remove the paper (with the cookies still on it) from the hot pan and set it aside.
Place a clean wet dish towel on the hot baking sheet; then return the paper with the cookies onto the towel so the wet towel lies between the baking sheet and the paper. Allow to sit for one minute.
The steam created by the hot pan will loosen the cookies so you can easily remove them from the paper with a turner.