Angel Kisses

Hannah's Note: These are a lot easier to make with an electric mixer, but you can also do them by hand with a copper bowl and a whisk.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F., rack in the middle position. (That’s two hundred seventy-five degrees F., not a misprint)

Directions:

1. Separate the egg whites and let them come up to room temperature. This will give you more volume when you beat them.
2. Prepare your cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper (works best) or brown parcel-wrapping paper. Spray the paper with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray and dust it lightly with flour.
3. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt until they are stiff enough to hold a soft peak. Add the cup of sugar gradually, sprinkling it in by quarter cups and beating hard for ten seconds or so after each sprinkling. Sprinkle in the flour and mix it at low speed, or fold in with an angel food cake whisk.
4. Drop little mounds of dough on your paper-lined cookie sheet. If you place four mounds in a row and you have four rows, you’ll end up with 16 cookies per standard-size sheet.
5. Place one Hershey’s Kiss, point up, in the center of each mound. Push the candies down, but not all the way to the bottom. (You don’t want the chocolate to actually touch the parchment paper.) Drop another little mound of meringue on top of the candy to cover it up.
6. Bake at 275 degrees F. for approximately 40 minutes, or until the meringue part of the cookie is slightly golden and dry to the touch.
7. Cool on the paper-lined cookie sheet by setting it on a wire rack. When the cookies are completely cool, peel them carefully from the paper and store them in an airtight container in a dry place. (A cupboard shelf is fine, just NOT the refrigerator!)
8. Yield: 3 to 4 dozen cookies with a nice chocolate surprise in the center.

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