Cherry Kisses — The Dessert I Wish I’d Made for Mom

Valentine's Day. I don't have a girlfriend, which is fine — I'm twenty-two, I live in a 400-square-foot apartment that smells like smoke, and my primary relationship is with a Weber Smokey Mountain. The dating pool for a guy whose ideal Friday night is making pierogi and watching the Brewers is... niche. But I cooked anyway. Not for a date — for Mom and Dad. I made them a Valentine's dinner. Drove to the Cape Cod on Thursday evening with a cooler full of food: pan-seared steaks (ribeye, thick-cut, from the butcher on KK), roasted asparagus with lemon butter, twice-baked potatoes with cheddar and chives, and a molten chocolate cake that I spent two hours practicing the day before because the timing on a molten cake is unforgiving — thirty seconds too long and it's just a regular cake; thirty seconds too short and it's a chocolate volcano. Mom and Dad were confused. "It's a Thursday," Dad said. I said, "It's Valentine's Day. Sit down." Mom teared up. Dad looked uncomfortable. They sat down. The steaks were perfect — seared in a screaming-hot cast iron with butter, garlic, and thyme. Rested for five minutes. Sliced against the grain. Pink in the middle, crusty on the outside. Dad took one bite and closed his eyes, which from Dad is the equivalent of a standing ovation. The molten cake worked. I brought it to the table in the ramekin, inverted it onto a plate, and when Mom cut into it, the warm chocolate center flowed out and she actually gasped. "Jake," she said. "When did you learn to do this?" I said, "YouTube and four failed attempts." She laughed. After dinner, I did the dishes while Mom and Dad sat on the couch. Dad had his arm around Mom. They were watching something on TV that neither of them was paying attention to. They looked happy. They looked like two people who have been married for twenty-five years and still like each other, which is a miracle and a gift and the kind of love I want someday. I drove home thinking about that. About wanting someone to cook for. Not in a desperate way — I'm fine alone, I have the smoker — but in a someday way. Someday there will be someone who eats my pierogi and tells me they're not as good as their grandmother's, and I'll argue, and we'll laugh, and that will be the beginning of something. Someday. No rush. The pierogi will wait.

The molten cake was the right call for a sit-down dinner — dramatic, timed to the second, the kind of thing you practice four times in your apartment before you dare make it for your parents. But driving home that night, I kept thinking about something smaller. Something you could just leave on the counter and say nothing. Cherry Kisses are that dessert: rosy, sweet, and a little bit sentimental, the kind of thing Mom would wrap in a paper towel and eat slowly with her coffee the next morning. Next Valentine’s Day, I’m making both.

Cherry Kisses

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 3–4 drops red food coloring (optional, for a rosy Valentine’s tint)
• 36 maraschino cherries, well drained and patted dry

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 300°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Beat the egg whites. In a clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 2–3 minutes.
3. Add sugar gradually. With the mixer running on medium-high, add the granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time, beating continuously. Continue until stiff, glossy peaks form and the sugar is fully dissolved, about 4–5 minutes total.
4. Flavor and color. Beat in vanilla extract, almond extract, and red food coloring if using. The meringue should be thick, smooth, and hold its shape.
5. Pipe the kisses. Transfer meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 1-inch rosettes onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Press one drained maraschino cherry gently into the center of each rosette.
6. Bake low and slow. Bake at 300°F for 22–25 minutes, until the meringues are set and just barely beginning to color on the tips. They should lift cleanly off the parchment.
7. Cool completely. Turn off the oven and crack the door open. Let the cookies cool in the oven for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 22 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 5g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 12mg