This heirloom recipe from Grace Thorp’s makes a meringe-like, chewy cookie with the type of candied cherries that are usually only found around the holidays, though it might be possible to make a version with maraschino or luxardo cherries if you dry them out a bit. This recipe also calls for candied pineapple, though I think this batch turned out well enough without them.

I used a food processor to “cheat” the process of cutting up the cherries into tiny pieces, which might have changed the results — I ended up with a rough cherry paste after a few seconds. This also leached more color into the batter, so if you want to use a mix of red and green candied fruit, you might need to do a lot of chopping by hand instead.

The real trick with this recipe is folding the egg whites into a thick paste of fruit, nuts, and flour without losing all the precious air bubbles that you spent so much time whipping into them. It felt something like witnessing a great dane mate with a chihuahua — something’s getting smooshed.

Nevertheless, some air still made it into these cookies, and the result is a light and cherrylicious treat. And although the ingredients list below doesn’t call for much flour or sugar, one batch ekes out a little over 2 dozen cookies. I opted for a double batch, which made 4.5 dozen (54 cookies).

3 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz. pound candied cherries
Optional: 3 slices candied pineapple
2 cups broken pecans
1/2 cup flour

Cut the candied fruit into small pieces and flour them and the pecans. (You can use a food processor, though this will make almost a puree of cherries.)

Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry, then beat the sugar in slowly.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the fruit and nuts, a little at a time, until you have an even consistency. Work gently to avoid losing too much air from the whipped eggs.

Use a small cookie scoop or a spoon to drop onto greased cookie sheets. Press flat on top.

Bake at 300F for about 25-30 minutes, or until it starts to brown around the edges. Cool on the cookie sheet.

Store in an airtight container.