Cherry Almond Meringues

1 Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
2 Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3 Chop the dried cherries and almonds into small bits.
4 Using an electric mixer beat egg whites, cream of tartar, almond extract and salt until the eggs form soft peaks. While continuing to beat, add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat for an additional two or three minutes until sugar granules have dissolved and the eggs form stiff peaks. I found the batter to be quite sticky at this point.
5 Gently fold in the cherries and almonds into the egg mixture. Make sure you have a nice even distribution.
6 To make the meringues, you can drop the batter in rounded tablespoons onto the parchment about one inch apart. Alternately, place the batter into a large resealable bag and snip off about 3/8 inch of one tip. Pipe small mounds about the size of a medium walnut.
7 Place baking sheets into the oven and bake one hour. Rotate the cookie sheets turning front to back. If one sheet is above the other in your oven (not side-to-side) then flip the sheets as well. Continue baking until the meringues are dry, about an additional hour.
8 Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the meringues to completely cool before removing them from the parchment.
9 Store in an air tight container for up to one week.