Cinnamon Stars

3 whites of large eggs

11⁄2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1⁄4 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup rolled oats

3 cups slivered or sliced almonds

2 tablespoons cinnamon

In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add 1⁄4 cup sugar and whisk it in. When the mixture looks glossy, add another 1⁄4 cup of sugar and whisk it in until the mixture is glossy again. Continue this way, adding sugar gradually and whisking until the mixture looks shiny. Whisk in lemon juice and almond extract. Remove 1⁄3 cup of this meringue and refrigerate.

Put rolled oats in a food processor and process briefly until they look like coarse meal. Set aside. Put almonds into a food processor and process them until they look like coarse meal. Stir them into oats. Stir cinnamon into the almond mixture, then fold this into the egg mixture, stirring to make a stiff dough. (You may need to pull it together with your hands in the final stages.) Form dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes, or up to 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place baking parchment on 2 cookie sheets. Lay a sheet of parchment or wax paper on work surface and place dough on it. Cover dough with another sheet of paper, then roll it out to 1⁄3' thick. Cut with a star-shaped cookie cutter and transfer to cookie sheets with a spatula. Add a teaspoon of cold water to reserved meringue, then using a small spatula or flexible knife blade, spread about a teaspoonful onto each star. Bake for 25 minutes. Makes 3-4 dozen.