Tropical Angel Cookies

Banana Cream Pie Murder

## Ingredients

* 6 large eggs
* ¼ cup dried pineapple, finely chopped *(measure AFTER chopping)*
* ¼ cup dried mango, finely chopped *(if you can't find it, double the dried pineapple—measure AFTER chopping)*
* 1 cup coconut flakes, finely chopped *(measure AFTER chopping)*
* ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
* ½ teaspoon vanilla
* ¼ teaspoon salt
* 1 cup white *(granulated)* sugar
* 2 Tablespoons (⅛ cup) all-purpose flour *(Pack it down when you measure it.)*

## Directions

* Preheat oven to 275°F, rack in the middle position.

*(Yes, that's two hundred and seventy-five degrees F, NOT a misprint.)*

* Separate 6 large eggs and put the whites in one container and the yolks in another.
* Cover the container with the yolks and put it in the refrigerator. You can use it to make yolk-rich scrambled eggs for breakfast in the morning, or you can use the yolks to make a Chocolate Flan With Caramel Whipped Cream.
* Set the egg whites on your kitchen counter until they'e come up to room temperature. *(This will give them more volume when you whip them up into a meringue.)*
* While you're waiting for your egg whites to warm to room temperature, use your food processor with the steel blade *(or a chef's knife with a cutting board)* to finely chop your dried pineapple, dried mango, and coconut flakes into very small pieces.
* Prepare your cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper *(this works best)* or brown parcel-wrapping paper. Spray the paper with Pam or another non-stick cooking spray and dust it lightly with flour.

**Hannah's 1st Note: You can also use Pam Baking Spray or another brand of baking spray that has the flour already in it.**

**Hannah's 2nd Note: These cookies are a lot easier to make if you use an electric mixer because you must beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks and, ultimately, stiff peaks. You can use a copper bowl and a whisk, but it will take some time and muscle.**

* Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt until they are firm enough to hold a soft peak. Test this by shutting off the mixer and dotting the egg whites with the side of a clean rubber spatula. When you pull up the spatula, a soft peak should form.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: For those of you haven't made meringues before, soft peaks slump a bit and bend over on themselves. That's what you want at this stage. A bit later on in the recipe, you'll want stiff peaks. Those stand straight up and do not slump or bend over.**

* With the mixer running on MEDIUM HIGH speed, sprinkle the egg mixture with approximately one third of the sugar. Turn the mixer up to HIGH speed for ten seconds. Then turn the mixer down to MEDIUM HIGH speed again.
* Sprinkle in half of the remaining sugar, turn the mixer up to HIGH speed for ten seconds, and then back down to MEDIUM HIGH speed again.
* Sprinkle in the remaining sugar and follow the same procedure, turning the mixer OFF when you're through.
* Sprinkle in the flour and mix it in the egg white mixture are LOW speed. *(You spent all this time whipping air into your meringue. Now you don't want to whip any air back out!)*
* Take the bowl out of the mixer and, using your rubber spatula, carefully fold in the chopped dried pineapple, mango, and the finely chopped coconut.
* Use a spoon to drop small mounds of meringue onto your cookie sheet, no more than 12 mounds to a stand-sized sheet. *(If you make 4 rows with 3 meringue mounds in each row, that should be perfect.)*
* Bake your Tropical Angel Cookies at 275°F for approximately 40 minutes *(forty minutes)* or until the meringue part of the cookie is slightly golden and dry to the touch when you tap it lightly with your finger.
* Cool the cookies on the paper-lined baking sheet by setting it on a cold stovetop burner or on a wire rack.
* When your Tropical Angel Cookies are completely cool, peel them off the paper and store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. *(Unfortunately, your refrigerator is NOT a dry place. A cupboard shelf will do just fine as long as it's not near your stove.)*

Yield: 3 to 4 dozen crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth cookies with a delightful tropical flavor. Warning: Tropical Angel Cookies are like potato chips. You can't eat just one!