SOFT CLOUDS RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange two oven racks evenly in the oven.
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spread the sugar in an even layer on the paper. (Leave a small border of paper around the sugar so the sugar doesn't spill onto the pan.) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the sugar is hot (an edge will begin to brown). Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When the sugar is almost ready, whisk the egg whites on high speed for 1 minute, until the whites are frothy. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the hot sugar to the egg whites. (I use a large spoon to start and then pick up the paper and pour the sugar in slowly.) Add the vanilla and continue to whisk on high for 10 minutes, until the meringue is at room temperature. It will be very thick and glossy.
• Using two large serving spoons, scoop 12 very large oval dollops of meringue onto two sheet pans lined with parchment paper. You should be able to get 6 meringues on each pan; space them well because they will expand while they bake. Place 3 candied rose petals on top of each meringue. Bake for 2 hours, until the outsides of the meringues are crisp and the centers are still soft. Set aside to cool on baking racks. Allow to sit uncovered and serve at room temperature. (Don't refrigerate or store covered or they will lose their crispness.)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Separate the eggs very carefully, there must be no yolk in the white.
• In one bowl, mix together the egg yolks, the 3 T. of Cottage Cheese OR Cream Cheese and the one packet of Sweetener until smooth.
• In the other bowl add 1/4 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar to the whites and beat the whites on high speed until they are fluffy and form nice peaks.
• Very carefully fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites until mixed, but try and not break down the fluffiness of the egg whites too much.
• Spray two cookie sheets with Pam or other fat-free cooking spray.
• With a large spoon, "scoop" the mixture into 10 even rounds on the sheets (about the size of the top-half of the McDonalds hamburger bun; roughly 3/4 inch thick and 4 to 5 inches across).
• Bake on the middle rack. Here is when you have to watch them, because the cooking time is not the same on any two batches. It is somewhere around 1/2 hour, but it could be less or more. You just need to watch them until them become nice and golden brown (again, the color of a McDonalds bun).
• Remove from the pans and cool on a rack or cutting board.
• While warm they are crumbly and similar to cooked meringue - but don't let this fool you! Once completely cool, seal them in a ziplock storage baggie or a tupperware over night. They will totally change their consistency, to something much more like bread - a softer texture that is nice and chewy. If you do not like softer chewy bread, then eat them as they are, nice and crisp.
• Since the sides that were facing the pan are perfectly flat, you use these to spread things on, or make sandwiches, or even as a burger bun! The choice is up to you, and you will be quite amazed at how much like a bun these really are!