These coconut meringue cookies are the perfect combination of delicate and crunchy goodness.
Before we get to the wonderfulness that is Coconut Meringue Cookies, I have to talk about one of my hobbies. Now that we are settling into the new year, I thought I’d share my book recommendations of my favorites from last year. I know I know, I should have done this last year but you guys, I’ve been tired. From all this reading.
In truth I’ve probably read the least amount of books ever in a year last year but the ones I read were wonderful. For the past couple of years I’ve kept a list of books read for that year and I’m amazed at how much I read. I usually have a book on my iPhone, hard copy and audible going at the same time. There are just so many books to read!
Because this post is also part of my #ReadingFoodie series, I have to share a recipe with you.
These Coconut Meringue Cookies go with the Lilac Girls book because that was my most favorite book I read last year. I listened to it on Audible and had to get it in hard copy because I want to have it at the ready to read over again.
I can’t tell you how much these Coconut Meringue Cookies completely blew my boss away. He gets giddy when I bring them in now. They are delicate like a meringue cookie but the inside is crunchy so it kind of surprises you. The flavor is delightful and you will become addicted to them.
Here’s the recipe and scroll down for my list of favorite books of 2016.
Coconut Meringue Cookies
Serves 1 cookie
These coconut meringue cookies are the perfect combination of delicate and crunchy goodness.
10 minPrep Time
18 minCook Time
28 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 3 egg whites
- 3/4 c sugar
- 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 c sweetened coconut flakes
- 3/4 c Rice Krispie treats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare baking pan by covering with silpat or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar. Beat on medium speed for about 6 minutes.
- Add in almond extract and turn beaters to high. Continue beating another couple of minutes until soft peaks form.
- Gently fold in coconut and cereal.
- Using a cookie scoop, drop scoopfuls of meringue mixture onto the baking sheets.
- Bake for 18 minutes.
Back to the list of my favorite books – please let me know if you have read any of these books and what you thought of them.
(*Clicking the links and photos of the books will take you to Amazon. If you purchase from the link, I will receive a small commission which helps to pay for the hosting of the blog.)
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly – this book just stole my heart. I have always had an interest in this era because it is mind boggling to me that this was allowed to happen. These characters stayed with me long after I read the book. I’m even considering a trip to see Caroline Ferriday’s home. I’m not ashamed to admit I googled Paul Rodierre to see if he was real because I just wanted to believe in their love story. If you like audio books I highly recommend it because all three of the lead women characters are told by different voices so it really sets it apart. And please try the Coconut Meringue Cookies because you will be reminded of this book when you eat them.
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.
For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin – I am so glad that this book is being turned into a movie. This isn’t normally a book I would have picked up but I saw someone on Instagram or Snapchat say they were reading it and that’s all it took. My sister and the kids were in town for the week I was reading this and I took it on one of our many road trips. My poor sister had to listen to me retelling the story to her and when we got home I holed up in my room so I could finish it. Then proceeded to come out crying like I had just lost a dear friend.
On a stormy winter night, two strangers wait for a flight at the Salt Lake City airport. Ashley Knox is an attractive, successful writer, who is flying East for her much anticipated wedding. Dr. Ben Payne has just wrapped up a medical conference and is also eager to get back East for a slate of surgeries he has scheduled for the following day. When the last outgoing flight is cancelled due to a broken de-icer and a forthcoming storm, Ben finds a charter plane that can take him around the storm and drop him in Denver to catch a connection. And when the pilot says the single engine prop plane can fit one more, if barely, Ben offers the seat to Ashley knowing that she needs to get back just as urgently. And then the unthinkable happens. The pilot has a heart attack mid-flight and the plane crashes into the High Uintas Wilderness– one of the largest stretches of harsh and remote land in the United States.
Ben, who has broken ribs and Ashley, who suffers a terrible leg fracture, along with the pilot’s dog, are faced with an incredibly harrowing battle to survive. Fortunately, Ben is a medical professional and avid climber (and in a lucky break, has his gear from a climb earlier in the week). With little hope for rescue, he must nurse Ashley back to health and figure out how they are going to get off the mountain, where the temperature hovers in the teens. Meanwhile, Ashley soon realizes that the very private Ben has some serious emotional wounds to heal as well. He explains to Ashley that he is separated from his beloved wife, but in a long standing tradition, he faithfully records messages for her on his voice recorder reflecting on their love affair. As Ashley eavesdrops on Ben’s tender words to his estranged wife she comes to fear that when it comes to her own love story, she’s just settling. And what’s more: she begins to realize that the man she is really attracted to, the man she may love, is Ben.
As the days on the mountains become weeks, their survival become increasingly perilous. How will they make it out of the wilderness and if they do, how will this experience change them forever?
Both a tender and page-turning read, The Mountain Between Us will reaffirm your belief in the power of love to sustain us.
Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod – This is another book that came my way because of the many people on Instagram reading it. I am not a morning person. Like at all. So am I totally open to doing anything that will make me get up eager to face the day. Right now I’m working on my affirmations and vision board so I can fully immerse myself in the Miracle Morning method. It makes perfect sense and people seem to really like it so I’m giving it a try!
What’s being widely regarded as “one of the most life changing books ever written” may be the simplest approach to achieving everything you’ve ever wanted, and faster than you ever thought possible.
What if you could wake up tomorrow and any—or EVERY—area of your life was beginning to transform? What would you change? The Miracle Morning is already transforming the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world by showing them how to wake up each day with more ENERGY, MOTIVATION, and FOCUS to take your life to the next level. It’s been right here in front of us all along, but this book has finally brought it to life.
Are you ready? The next chapter of YOUR life—the most extraordinary life you’ve ever imagined—is about to begin. It’s time to WAKE UP to your full potential…
The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close – This book was a recommendation on my Audible dashboard. Having been in politics early on in my professional career and having worked on a presidential campaign, this book really felt at home to me. So many times I would say yes or nod my head along with the narrator. It was definitely an inside look into living and working in the bubble that can be Washington, DC. If you are a fan of The West Wing or Scandal, like me, you will enjoy this book.
When Beth arrives in D.C., she hates everything about it: the confusing traffic circles, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends each summer. At dinner parties, guests compare their security clearance levels. They leave their BlackBerrys on the table. They speak in acronyms. And once they realize Beth doesn’t work in politics, they smile blandly and turn away. Soon Beth and her husband, Matt, meet a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy, and his wife, Ashleigh, and the four become inseparable, coordinating brunches, birthdays, and long weekends away. But as Jimmy’s star rises higher and higher, the couples’ friendship—and Beth’s relationship with Matt—is threatened by jealousy, competition, and rumors. A glorious send-up of young D.C. and a blazingly honest portrait of a marriage, this is the finest work yet by one of our most beloved writers.
Fantasyland Series by Kristen Ashley – ok, so here’s a little confession. Kristen is one of my go-to authors for romantic, alpha male, take me away books. Did I mention her Hero’s are ALPHA males. Sometimes her books all have the same theme – boy falls for girl, girl doesn’t want to admit she likes him, she gets in some kind of trouble, it all works out in the end – but I am still hooked. But this series reminded me of Game of Thrones, which my sister insisted I watch and where has Jon Snow been all my life?, and ended up with me buying the entire series. This is a lighter, romantic, sexier version of Game of Thrones.
From Book 1: Seoafin “Finnie” Wilde was taught by her parents that every breath was a treasure and to seek every adventure she could find. And she learns this lesson the hard way when they perish in a plane crash. But she never forgets and when she discovers there is a parallel universe where every person has a twin, she finds a witch who can send her there so she can have the adventure of a lifetime.
But upon arrival in the Winter Wonderland of Lunwyn, she realizes she’s been played by her twin and finds herself walking down the aisle to be wed to The Drakkar.
Thrown into inauspicious circumstances, with years of practice, Finnie bests the challenges and digs into her adventure. But as Frey Drakkar discovers the woman who is his new wife is not Princess Sjofn, a woman he dislikes but instead, his Finnie, a free-spirit with a thirst for venture just like him, without her knowledge he orders his new bride bound to his frozen world, everlasting.
But at the same time Frey plunges Finnie into a web of political intrigue that includes assassination plots, poison, magic, mystery and… dragons.
First Star I See Tonight by Susan Elizabeth Phillips – I first came across Susan Elizabeth Phillips when I was looking for a football romance book to read. Yes, there’s such a genre, or sub-genre. The minute I read my first Chicago Stars book I was hooked. Susan has a way of writing that just sweeps you into her world and will make me laugh out loud. I especially love her books on audiobook as well because she picks the best narrators.
A no-nonsense sports hero and a feisty female detective go head-to-head in this funny, fresh, seductive novel from the award winning NYT bestselling author known for her unforgettable characters, heartfelt emotion, and laugh out loud humor.
Piper Dove is a woman with a dream—to become the best detective in the city of Chicago. First job? Trail former Chicago Stars quarterback, Cooper Graham. The problem? Graham’s spotted her, and he’s not happy.
Which is why a great detective needs a first rate imagination. “The fact is . . . I’m your stalker. Not full-out barmy. Just . . . mildly unhinged.”
Piper soon finds herself working for Graham himself, although not as the bodyguard he refuses to admit he so desperately needs. Instead, he’s hired her to keep an eye on the employees at his exclusive new nightclub. But Coop’s life might be in danger, and Piper’s determined to protect him, whether he wants it or not. (Hint: Not!) If only she weren’t also dealing with a bevy of Middle Eastern princesses, a Pakistani servant girl yearning for freedom, a teenager who just wants to fit in, and an elderly neighbor demanding that Piper find her very dead husband.
And then there’s Cooper Graham,, a legendary sports hero who always gets what he wants—even if what he wants just might be an intrepid detective hell bent on proving she’s as tough as he is.
From the bustling streets of Chicago to a windswept lighthouse on Lake Superior to the glistening waters of Biscayne Bay, two people who can’t stand to lose will test themselves and each other to discover what matters most.
Ok now I need some book recommendations from you. What are some of your favorite books you have read recently?
** There are affiliate links in this post for the books I recommend. Amazon gives me a teeny tiny commission if you click on those links and buy the books – at no cost to you. It helps pay for the hosting fees for the blog so thanks!
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