I know,  it’s Valentine’s and I am supposed to be posting some sort of gooey chocolate dessert.  The truth is that I am just not always in the mood for chocolate.  Anyway meringues use cooking alchemy to make something special out of common ingredients which I find very romantic on  a symbolic level .  Also, meringues are a light dessert, and will not put a damper on your evening by inducing a food coma.

These meringues have a lovely lemon scent and the mysterious deliciousness that poppy seeds lend to food.  Meringues are nice served with fresh fruit, and these ones are particularly delicious with blueberries.  Enjoy!

LEMON POPPY SEED MERINGUES

• 4 large egg whites  (1/2 cup)
• 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 8 oz (2 cups) icing sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup poppy seeds
• the zest of 1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.
3. In a standing mixer or using a hand-held electric mixer, whisk the egg whites, cornstarch and vinegar  together on high-speed for about 3 minutes or until they resemble shaving cream. Then, with the motor still running, start adding the sugar 1 heaping teaspoon at a time at a steady pace  until all of the sugar is added.  This process will take about 7 minutes.   You should have glossy white peaks. Using a spatula,  gently fold in the lemon zest and poppy seeds.
4. Pour the meringue mixture into six equally sized circular piles (3 on each baking sheet).  Use a spoon to swirl the tops and finesse the shapes a bit.
5. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.   Some people like to leave their meringues in the cooled oven overnight before eating them.

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