Giant meringues

Paris. Boulangerie. Patisserie (published in 1994). It was one of my first French baking books to acquire. I was young. Just out of school and did not know anything about French baking. A book like this, about pastries and boulangeries, was unimaginable. I remember how I placed stickers next to the recipes I wanted to make, and these Giant meringues were one of them. I never did make them, at least from a recipe that was in this book. I made a recipe later, inspired by someone else, yet, as I made this recipe, I still remembered that specific book and that picture of giant meringues that have followed me on my many trips in France - they like to be displayed in windows, catching everyone's eye with their incredible beauty and simplicity. I rarely go for meringues, but these – with cacao and coffee beans – are all about evenings with these cookies, cognac and coffee.