Do you remember the game “Seven Minutes in Heaven”?

You know, the game you played in middle school were you had to spend seven minutes in a dark closet with a guy or girl . When you entered the closet you had no idea who might be waiting inside. Either you had to squirm under the advances of your creepy closet-mate, or you experienced inward terror, wanting to put the sweet moves on your crush.

Basically it was a lose-lose situation every time.

But let me introduce you to something that is fool-proof. Something that will bring you joy and comfort without having to rely on a dark closet.

Meringue Cookies.

You are probably asking yourself, meringue, how could that possibly be a cookie? Well let me fill you in. Basically, we are taking a lemon meringue pie and simplifying it.

All you need are three ingredients to make meringue. Egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar.

Simple, right? Right.

Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in mixer on medium and then turn it up to high and slowly, and I mean slowly, add the sugar.

It will take about seven minutes until everything is fully combined and whipped. It should look like this…

When your meringue is ready, add a teaspoon of lemon zest to the mixture. Then pipe the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 200 degrees for about an hour and ten minutes. Let them cool completely.

See, if you have three ingredients and seven minutes, then there is nothing stopping you from making these lighter then air, decadent cookies. Go ahead, walk on the wild side.

Lemon Meringue Cookies

(adapted from Eat Live Run)

Makes about 2 dozen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour + 10 minutes

Ingredients:
3 egg whites (room temperature)
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions:
Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together. Gradually add the sugar while the mixer is going on high and continue to beat for another seven minutes or so, until stiff glossy peaks appear. Test this by removing the whisk attachment from your bowl and standing it upright. If the meringue doesn’t slump, it’s ready.

Lightly incorporate the lemon zest to the meringue. Pipe out cookies onto parchment paper. Bake at 200 degrees for one hour and ten minutes, until light and dry.