Red Velvet Fudge

I don't know about you but I am far from finished my Christmas shopping.  In addition to gifts for family and friends, I also enjoy whipping up homemade treats like cookies, salted caramels and mini cheesecakes for my daughter's teachers, bus driver, etc.  I'm pretty sure I have decided on this red velvet fudge for them this year.  Oh, how I love this amazingly rich and creamy confection!  It's like a vacation in my mouth!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Turkey Treats

In an effort to stray from my usual "Oreo Turkey Treats" and "Candy Pilgrim Hats" as treats for the kids on Thanksgiving, I came up with these cute little chocolate covered strawberry turkey treats!  Only five ingredients paired with a little bit of patience and you will have cute, delicious turkey treats that your guests will gobble up!  

As a side note, I know it's a tad early to start posting Thanksgiving recipes.  Honestly, my mind has been in Thanksgiving mode for quite some time now mainly because I have been working with Food.com on Thanksgiving recipe posts since August.  

Bird's Nest Treats for Easter/Spring

I don't know about you, but I have had Easter food on my mind for quite some time now.  While browsing Pinterest, I came across an adorable treat idea for kids from The Pastry Affair.  These are incredibly quick and easy to make and the neighborhood kids raved over them!  You can't go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter!  I would personally prefer using pretzels in place of the chow mein noodles because they aren't as crunchy and would add a saltiness to the sweetness but the chow mein noodles look more like twigs than pretzels do.  

Candy Pilgrim Hats and Oreo Turkey Treats

Looking for ways to use up all that Halloween candy?  I know I am!  Here are two Thanksgiving-themed treats you can assemble from your leftover Halloween candy.  These would be perfect for before or after your Thanksgiving meal!

Witch's Broomstick Lollipops

I haven't posted in a while because my family was enjoying our last vacation of the year in North Carolina.  We had a wonderful time but I sure am happy to be back in the swing of things.  

I am going to turn my focus on Halloween treats for the next few posts.  The first one I wanted to share is a quick, easy and tasty Halloween snack that your children will love.  

Mini Snickers Cups ... with Balloons!

 One Year Ago:  Celeste's Chili

We had a fun day relaxing by the pool in the hot sun and our bellies were full from dinner.  My husband and I craved something chocolatey as a dessert.  Months ago, I remembered seeing how Bakerella made pudding cups from the book, Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey Treats for Kids by Jill O’Connor.  Basically, you coat the bottom of balloons with chocolate, allow the chocolate to set and then pop the balloons.  How fun is that?!  You are left with an edible chocolate bowl to use however you would like.  I pulled out some chocolate chips and decided to make a snickers-like candy from whatever I could find in my pantry. These turned out amazing and your kids will thoroughly enjoy making them, especially the popping the balloons part.

Homemade Ferrero Rocher Candy

One Year Ago:  Rosemary, Lemon and Garlic Roasted Chicken

I had an entire day off with no obligation.  My daughter was playing outside with the neighbors for hours, I had no work, I had no cleaning to do and I had no errands to run, so my wheels immediately started turning and I fixed myself in the kitchen.  I found myself craving something sweet, specifically Ferrero Rocher.  My parents didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up and my Grandmommy used to stuff our Christmas stockings with Rocher packs every year.  It was the only time we had them and they were always a very special treat for us.  I always think about her when I bite into one.  I came up with the idea to use part of an ice cream cone, chopped nuts, Nutella and melted chocolate.  After I bit into one, I giggled with delight.  The taste is spot on and they are so simple to make!  You must try this!  Seriously, you cannot go wrong with Nutella.  I am going to start looking for some good homemade waffle cone recipes so I don't have to rely on ice cream cones and can shape them into perfectly-round balls myself.  Know of any good recipes for that?

Speaking of my Grandmommy, I have started an Alzheimer's Association team for the Philadelphia walk in September called Team Shirley.  This terrible disease took her memory away for 10 years before it took her life.  My husband and I will be walking the 5 miles and are trying to raise money to benefit the foundation.  If you are interested in donating to this cause, please click here.  Thank you.

Little Lamb Cake Pops

One Year Ago:  Italian Pasta Salad

Have you ventured into the cake pop world yet?  I have and am completely hooked.  They are so easy and fun and what you can do with them is only limited by your imagination!  Bakeralla has these cute lamb pops and I instantly knew that I would be making them for the kids at Easter. 

Ingredients:

• 1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
• 1 (16 oz) can frosting
• Wax paper
• White candy melts
• Sugar pearls 
• Licorice-flavored gumdrops, cut in half (heads)
• Licorice sticks, cut into 1/2-inch long strips and then in half (legs)
• Tiny heart sprinkles (noses)
• Rainbow chip sprinkles, pick through for the brown ones (ears)
• Lollipop sticks
• Styrofoam block

Directions:

After the cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble it into large bowl.  Mix the frosting thoroughly into the crumbled cake.  You do not need the entire can of frosting, so start out by using almost the entire can and add more if you need to.

Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls.  Place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave per directions on package. (30 sec intervals, stirring in between.)  Dip the tip of your lollipop sticks in a little of the melted candy coating and insert into the cake balls. (Insert a little less than halfway.)  Place them in the freezer for a little while to firm up.

Meanwhile, prepare the candy.  Dip the end of a toothpick in the melted chocolate, apply it to the back of a heart sprinkle and attach it on a gumdrop to make the nose.  Using the same toothpick, dip the end into the melted chocolate and dot two eyes.  Place some melted chocolate on the bottom of two brown rainbow chip sprinkles and attach them to the gumdrop to make the ears.  Repeat with the remaining candy until you have about 45 to 50 heads. 

Once the cake pops are firm, carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered, remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don’t tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off, too. When the candy coating is just about to harden, attach the face and legs and sprinkle the sugar pearl candy all over.  Repeat with the remainder of the cake pops. 

Place in a styrofoam block to dry. 

Enjoy! 

Homemade Almost Cadbury Creme Eggs

One Year Ago:  Seafood Alfredo

My daughter had friends over today for a play date and I wanted to whip up a fast Easter-themed treat for them.  These might not taste exactly like the Cadbury Creme Eggs but they are cute, fun to make, very sweet and tasty! 

Ingredients:
Yields 8 eggs

• 1 c confectioners' sugar
• 1 c marshmallow fluff 
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 
• Yellow icing coloring
• Milk chocolate 

Directions:

To prevent sticking, grease your hands with butter as needed.  In a large bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, marshmallow fluff and vanilla extract.

Separate 1/4 of the dough.  Dip a toothpick into the yellow icing coloring and knead it into the dough.

Separate the white dough into eight pieces.  Roll out a thin layer of the white dough in 3-inch circles.


Separate the yellow dough into eight pieces.  Roll each piece into small balls.

Place a yellow dough ball in the center of a white dough circle.

 

Bring up the edges of the white dough to seal around the yellow dough ball and shape into an egg.  Repeat with the remaining dough until you have eight eggs.  Place them on parchment paper and in the freezer (for easier handling when dipping in chocolate).

Meanwhile, melt the milk chocolate in 30-second increments.  Remove the eggs from the freezer and coat in the melted chocolate.  Decorate with candy pieces, if desired. 

Place the eggs back on the parchment paper and set them back in the freezer until the chocolate is hardened, about 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Madelyn Rating:

Two (chocolaty) thumbs up!

This recipe is linked to Sweets for a Saturday

Peanut Butter S'more Cups

One Year Ago:  Cinnamon-Apple Tea Pancakes

I find myself daydreaming a lot about camping under the stars with my family.  There's something magical about sitting by a warm fire while it crackles away in the night, watching the embers glow and sharing stories with those you care about as the shadows dance around you.  Even long after the fire is put out, the smell of it remains with you until the morning.  Though I have several weeks of waiting for a full weekend of nice weather, I at least can enjoy the taste of our favorite snack around the campfire, s'mores.  As I started to make these lovely little treats, a light bulb went off in my head:  Peanut butter!  Unfortunately, it wasn't until after I started munching away at them that another light bulb went off in my head:  Pretzels!  These are so addicting and even my husband, who is not a fan of sweets, couldn't resist them.  The only thing that could make this better is the addition of a layer of a mini pretzel. 

What do you enjoy munching on around a fire? 

Ingredients:

Printable Recipe

• 1 c graham cracker crumbs 
• 1/4 c confectioners' sugar 
• 6 tbsp butter, melted 
• 3/4 c milk chocolate chips 
• 1/2 c creamy peanut butter
• Optional:  24 mini pretzels
• 12 large marshmallows, cut in half 
• 1/2 c milk chocolate, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar and butter.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into a mini muffin pan.  Use the back of the measuring spoon to gently press down to form shallow cups.

Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, until the edges bubble.

Place approximately 1/2 tablespoon of the milk chocolate in each cup.

Optional:  Place a mini pretzel on top.

Top with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter.
 
Cut the marshmallows in half.  Place the cut side down on top of the peanut butter.  Return to the oven for 2 minutes.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Using a spoon, remove each s'more cup from the pan.  Spread some melted chocolate over each s'more cup.

Place in the freezer for 15 minutes, or until set.

Enjoy!

Madelyn Rating:

Snow White gives two thumbs up!

This recipe is linked to Sweets for a Saturday

Oreo Cookie Fudge

One Year Ago:  Crab Cakes

This past Friday, it got up to 75 degrees and I loved every minute of it.  Tomorrow morning, the weatherman is calling for snow... and I am dreading every minute of it.  I had already started daydreaming about the sound of the waves rolling onto the shore, the smell of the salty air, the burn of the sun on my skin, the smile on the face of my daughter as she sculpted her sand castle, and the taste of boardwalk fudge on my tongue.  Oh, how I miss the fudge! 

Food Network Magazine has a special in their April edition for 10-minute dessert recipes, one of which happens to be chocolate-nut fudge.  I tweaked the recipe, changing it from chocolate to vanilla, substituting Oreo cookies for nuts and eliminating the vanilla extract and came up with these little gems.  They turned out wonderful and satisfied my boardwalk-fudge craving. 

Ingredients:
Printable Recipe

• 12 oz vanilla (or premium white if not available) baking chips
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 10 (approximately 1 1/2 c) Oreo cookies, chopped
• 2 Oreo cookies, crushed, for topping

Directions:
  
Line an 8x8-inch pan with greased parchment paper.  

Combine the baking chips and condensed milk and melt together in a double boiler.  You can also melt them in the microwave-safe bowl in 30-minute increments.

Stir in the chopped cookies.  Pour the mixture in the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the crushed Oreo cookie crumbs evenly over all. 

Cover and chill for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Carefully lift the fudge out from the pan.  Cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Homemade Irish Potato Candy

The actual name of this confection is two-thirds a lie.  Irish Potato Candy is neither Irish nor does it contain potato.  However, it is a traditional Philadelphia candy that is very popular around Saint Patrick's Day.  It consists of butter, cream cheese, vanilla and coconut.  This mixture is then rolled in cinnamon, which makes it look just like a miniature potato. 

Ingredients:

Yields 5 dozen
Adapted from Allrecipes

• 1/4 c salted butter, softened 
• 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature 
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 
• 4 c confectioners' sugar
• 2 1/2 c flaked coconut 
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp sugar 

Directions:
 
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese, until smooth.  Beat in the vanilla and then the confectioners' sugar a little at a time.  Cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Stir in the coconut.  Roll the dough into small potato shapes.

In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar.  Roll the potato candies in the cinnamon-sugar to evenly coat.

Lie the candies on parchment paper and allow to chill for 1 hour, until set.

Enjoy!

Rosewater Turkish Delight

One year ago:  Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was one of my favorite movies growing up.  I remember watching it at least once a day during summer break from school and memorizing every line.  One thing that I could not understand is what it was about the Turkish delight that enticed Edmund to keep coming back to the white witch and ultimately betray his own siblings?  What exactly is Turkish delight and what does it taste like?  Well, thanks to Annalise at Completely Delicious, I can now say that I know.  It is a soft, sweet candy that comes in a whole variety of flavors.  It is time consuming but definitely worth the effort!  Next time, I will flavor it with orange extract... the flavor options are endless!  I omitted rolling the candies in coconut at the end because I am generally not a fan of it but I'm sure it would be a wonderful addition if you like that sort of thing!

Ingredients:
Printable Recipe

• 4 c sugar 
• 4 1/2 c water, separated 
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 
• 1 1/4 c cornstarch 
• 1 tsp cream of tarter 
• 1 tbsp rosewater extract 
• Red food coloring, a few drops to desired color 
• Confectioners' sugar, as needed 

Directions:

Line a 9x9-inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the sugar, 1 1/2 cups of the water and lemon juice.  Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, whisking frequently.  (Use a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming on the sauce pan.)

Once the mixture comes to a boil, insert a candy thermometer and allow the mixture to continue boiling, without stirring, until it reaches 240 degrees fahrenheit (about 10 to 15 minutes of boiling time to reach that temperature).

Meanwhile, while the sugar mixture is boiling, in a large saucepan, whisk together the cream of tarter, 3 cups of the water and cornstarch.  Whisk vigorously and constantly to prevent lumps and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.  The mixture will become very thick.  Set it aside.

 

When the sugar mixture reaches 240 degrees fahrenheit, slowly pour it into the cornstarch mixture, whisking vigorously and continuously.  Return the mixture to a boil.  Turn down the heat to low and cook for 1 hour.  Stir the mixture every 2 to 3 minutes to prevent from burning.  The mixture should be pale yellow and extremely sticky.

Remove from heat and stir in the rosewater extract and food coloring.  Quickly pour the mixture into the prepared pan and place uncovered in a cool place overnight.  Do not place it in the refrigerator.

Remove from the pan to a surface sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.  Cut into squares with a greased knife and roll around each piece in the confectioners' sugar.

Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

 

Happy National Peanut Butter Lovers' Day!  Yes, that's what it really is today.  To celebrate, I thought I'd make my family some peanut butter cups.  These are so easy and so close to the taste of store bought that you will never want to buy them again!  Try experimenting with crushed pretzels, nuts, etc. 

Ingredients:

• 2 c milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 c creamy peanut butter 
• 2 tbsp confectioners' sugar
• 1 tbsp graham cracker crumbs

Directions:


Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth.

Place cupcake tins with paper inserts inside a cupcake pan.  Drizzle a thin layer of the melted chocolate in the bottom of each cup.  Place the pan in the freezer for 5 minutes, or until chocolate is set.

In a bowl, combine the peanut butter, confectioners' sugar and graham cracker crumbs.  Spoon about a teaspoon or so of the peanut butter on top of the chocolate, smoothing with the back of the spoon.  Be sure to leave a 1/8-inch thick outside rim of chocolate untouched by the peanut butter.

Place the chocolate back in the microwave and melt again in 30 second increments, until smooth.  Drizzle enough chocolate into each cup over the peanut butter so that there is a flat top surface of chocolate.  If there are any air bubbles, gently pop them with a toothpick.  Place in the freezer for 5 minutes, or until chocolate is set.

Carefully peel the paper from the peanut butter cups.

Enjoy!

Raspberry-Filled Meringue Heart Cookies

Valentine's Day marks marks seven years that I have been married to my sweetheart, John. We met when I was in the summer after 9th grade and by the end of our first date, I knew he was the one without a doubt in my mind. He is an amazing man. He is considerate, honest, truthful, caring, an amazing father, intelligent, witty, the funniest person I've ever met and on top of all of those things, he gladly puts my needs before his own. He is my best friend and soul-mate. He is my everything. He is going to hate me when he reads the sappiness of this post lol ;) I can't help it; I'm a sappy kind of girl. :)

Ingredients:
Printable Recipe

• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
  
• 1/8 tsp cream of tarter
  
• Pinch of salt
  
• 3/4 c sugar
• Red food coloring, a few drops
  
• Raspberry preserves
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a large bowl, beat together the egg whites, raspberry extract, cream of tarter and salt using an electric mixer on high speed until peeks begin to form.

Turn down the speed to low and slowly add in the sugar . Add the red food coloring, to desired color.

Pipe the egg mixture into heart shapes onto parchment paper lined baking sheets and then outline each heart. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Turn the heat off and allow the meringues to sit in the oven for an hour.

Carefully remove the meringues from the parchment paper. Spoon the raspberry preserves into the center of each heart.

Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!

I wanted to "stop in" quickly to say Happy Holidays to all of my readers! I hope you had a wonderful, joyful time with the ones you love and made many beautiful memories.

Things have been crazy around here with the holidays (as I'm sure they have been for you, too), which is why I haven't posted recipes in a while. God has truly blessed us with amazing people in our lives. I am so unworthy.

Anyway, I probably have baked literally 20 dozen cookies (in a nasty oven) in December alone and I loved every minute of it. Maybe it's just me but it just doesn't feel like Christmas without cookies baking in the oven. What kind of cookies have you baked for Christmas? I hope to get back into a normal schedule starting Monday and post consistently again. In the meantime, I'll leave you with my Christmas tree cake that I made for Christmas Eve. I put all of the names of my nieces and nephews (in order of age) on the candy ornaments. It was so much fun to make!

For those of you who know me, you know that I have been using a 20-year-old-piece-of-junk-hideous-ancient-electricity-hogging oven that I despise and constantly complain about. Guess what?!?! My husband got me a new glass-top convection oven for Christmas! YES! :) I was overwhelmed and touched by such a generous, thoughtful gift. It is being delivered tomorrow afternoon and I know I will not be able to sleep tonight because of the anticipation! It's supposed to snow (6 inches!) tomorrow afternoon, so I hope, I hope, I hope it doesn't interfere with my precious gift.

ADDENDUM:

The snow did interfere. *sigh* The snow caused the truck to run into a ditch, so I won't be getting my new oven until Tuesday. :(

To my 20-year-old-hideous-ancient-electricity-hogging oven:

We have been through a lot these past four years, my 20-year-old-hideous-ancient-electricity-hogging oven. Thank you for all of the the wonderful entrees, sides and desserts that you have assisted me in serving to my family and friends... even though you took a ton of time, cooked unevenly and your temperature was way off. I wish you well in your new venture of cooking with my dear friends, who lack a functioning oven.

While I'm at it, here is how my husband "gave" me my oven. In case you can't read the letter, it says, "Celeste, Please forgive me for going over our agreed upon spending limit but you really deserve this. I hope you have the best Christmas ever! I love you more every day. Merry Christmas baby! John." I am so deeply in love with my best friend.

Also, my daughter surprised me with this beautiful gift today. It will hang on our tree until the day I die.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Salted Butter Caramels

You would think that after doing 12 days straight of Christmas cookies I would be tired of baking. I actually had gotten used to baking so much and now something just doesn't feel right... I think I'm going through cookie withdrawal!

My daughter has the sweetest kindergarten teacher and awesome bus drivers and I wanted to do something special for them for the holidays. So, I decided to make them something as a thank you for all of their hard work in teaching and taking good care of my daughter. Cookies were my first thought... until I remembered that I have several batches of cookies to make right around Christmas, so I decided to go with candy. It has been a while since I have made caramels, so I decided to make David Lebovitz's awesome recipe. I wrapped them each in waxed paper and stored in an airtight container. They can hold for up to a month. It's a perfect gift that you can make ahead of time! I hope they like their gifts!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Rounded 1/2 tsp plus 1/4 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1/2 c light corn syrup
• 1 c white sugar
• 1/4 c salted butter, cubed and room temperature; divided

Directions:

• Line a 9-inch loaf pan with tin foil and spray it with cooking spray.
• Heat the cream, 2 tbsp of the butter, vanilla and 1/2 tsp sea salt in a small saucepan until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm while you cook the syrup.
• In a medium, heavy-duty saucepan (4 qts) fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the corn srup with the sugar, stirring gently to make sure the sugar melts smoothly. Once the mixture is melted together and the sugar is evenly moistened, only stir as necessary to keep from getting hot spots. Over stirring the sugar will prevent the crystals from forming as easily.
• Cook until the syrup reaches 310 degrees F.

• Turn off the heat and stir in the warm cream mixture, until smooth.
• Turn the heat back on and cook the mixture to 260 degrees F.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining butter cubes, until melted and smooth.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wait 10 minutes and then sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 tsp sea salt.

• Allow to cool completely.
• Once cool, lift out the foil with the caramel, peel away the foil and slice the bar of caramel with a long, sharp knife into squares or rectangles.
• Wrap individually with waxed paper.
• Enjoy!

Gingerbread Bears

12 Days of (Christmas) Cookies

Day 10

Gingerbread Bears

I love the smell of gingerbread cookies baking in the oven almost as much as I enjoy eating them! But I can't bear (no pun intended) to eat this little man... he's too cute!

Ingredients:

• 3 c flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c butter, softened
• 3/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c molasses
• 1 egg

Directions:

• Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl.
• Beat the butter and brown sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy.
• Add the molasses and egg, beat well.
• Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture on low speed, until well mixed.
• Form the dough into a thick flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured surface.
• Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are set and just begin to brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool completely.
• Decorate cooled cookies as desired. Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days.
• Enjoy!

Orange-Cinnamon Meringues

12 Days of (Christmas) Cookies

Day 8

Orange-Cinnamon Meringues

I realized last night that my husband has never had a meringue before. He bit into it and said, "I've never tasted anything like this before". I cannot imagine going through life never enjoying one of these heavenly treats. It's like biting into a sweet cloud from heaven. I thought adding a little orange extract and sprinkling cinnamon would give them a nice flavor. Wow. These are the best meringues I have ever had. My daughter gobbled up as many as she could get her little hands on. When making these, the key to stiffening your egg whites is to make sure they are at room temperature.

Ingredients:

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 tsp orange extract
• 1/8 tsp cream of tarter
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3/4 c white sugar
• Ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• In a Kitchen Aid (preferable) or with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites, orange extract, cream of tarter and salt on medium speed until soft peaks appear and then turn the speed to high and add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the egg mixture and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form; about 6 minutes total.
• Drop by rounded teaspoons (or pipe) onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until firm (43 minutes in my oven). Turn oven heat off and allow the meringues to sit in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

• Remove from oven. Decorate with food coloring, if desired. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Enjoy!

Madelyn Rating:"Good!"