Coffee Meringue Kisses

Description
Makes about 3 dozen.

Ingredients

 * 3/4 	cup	Sugar
 * 3 	tsp	Powdered instant coffee
 * 4 	egg whites, room temperature
 * 1 	tsp	vanilla extract
 * 1/4 	tsp	cream of tartar

Directions

 * 1) These cookies - said to have been a favorite with marie antoinette - are 100 percent fat-free, and have about 20 calories per cookie.
 * 2) They also have no flour, so would be good for someone who isn"t able to eat Wheat.
 * 3) They will, however, tie up your oven for 3–4 hours.
 * 4) Heat oven to 250 °F.
 * 5) Use nonstick cookie sheets, or line regular cookie sheets with parchment paper.
 * 6) In a food processor with a metal blade, process the Sugar and coffee powder until the texture of the Sugar becomes very fine.
 * 7) In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and vanilla extract with an electric mixer at medium speed, until very frothy.
 * 8) Add cream of tartar, and continue beating at medium speed until soft peaks form.
 * 9) Increase beater speed to high, and gradually beat in sugar-coffee mixture.
 * 10) Continue beating until soft peaks form and mixture has a glossy sheen.
 * 11) To pipe cookies from pastry bag:
 * 12) Fill pastry bag (or 1-gallon freezer bag), fitted with number 6 plain round pastry tube, with meringue.
 * 13) Hold bag upright over prepared cookie sheets and squeeze out meringue,
 * 14) Leave pastry tip buried in meringue, until you have piped out a round about 1 1⁄2" in diameter.
 * 15) Lift up tip and stop squeezing.
 * 16) Leave 1" between cookies.
 * Or, drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet, leaving 2" between cookies.
 * 1) Bake 1 hour without opening oven door.
 * 2) Turn off oven, and let meringues dry in oven 2–3 hours more without opening oven door.
 * 3) After the first hour, it"s okay to peek just once
 * 4) At this point you can leave them in the oven overnight.
 * 5) Remove the meringues from the cookie sheet with a spatula.
 * 6) Store in airtight container.