YIELD: 3 Dozen

Ingredients

* 3 egg whites

* ¼ cup sugar

* ½ tsp cinnamon

* ½ tsp almond extract

* ¼ tsp salt

* 1/4 cup walnuts, added for topping

Procedure

* Let egg whites stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

* Line cookie sheets with parchment paper if you have it. I use aluminum foil and they still turn out fine.

* In a small bowl mix together the cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

* In a medium mixing bowl combine egg whites until soft peaks form.

* Add , almond extract, and salt.

* Beat again until when lifting the beater out of the whites the peaks curl. I look for them to "flop over a bit"

* Add the cinnamon-sugar mixture ONE tablespoon at a time. Beat the egg whites until the peaks stand up straight.

* Using a tablespoon, drop well-rounded spoonfuls of the meringue mixture onto cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart.

* Bake at 250 F for 30 minutes.

Turn off the oven and allow the cookies to dry in the closed oven for 40 minutes. If it's a dry day with almost NO humidity - then I let these dry on the counter top while I start the next cookie sheet.

* When you remove the cookie sheets from the oven gently peel the cookies off the cookie sheets pretty quick after removing them. I usually wait about 1-2 minutes and then start peeling.