Lunch: Tulipes

These elegant dessert shells are the food staff's secret weapon: They're surprisingly easy to whip up, and you can keep some on hand for last-minute guests. Wrap well and store for up to a week. Fill with ice cream, sorbet, or lemon curd and fresh fruit.

Ingredients

3 large egg whites
3/4 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. butter (no substitutions)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 qt. ice cream or sorbet

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease large cookie sheet.
In large bowl, with wire whisk, beat egg whites, confectioners' sugar, and flour until well blended. Beat in melted butter, vanilla, and salt.
Make 2 cookies at a time: Drop 1 heaping tablespoon batter onto one end of prepared cookie sheet. Repeat to make a second cookie, 4 inches apart. (Do not place more than 2 cookies on cookie sheet because, after baking, cookies must be shaped quickly before hardening.) With narrow metal spatula, spread batter to form 4-inch rounds. Bake cookies 5 to 7 minutes or until golden around edges.
Place 2 glasses, each with about a 2-inch-diameter base, upside down on work surface. With spatula, quickly lift 1 hot cookie and gently shape over bottom of glass to resemble an open tulip. Repeat with second cookie. When cookies are cool, about 15 minutes, transfer to wire rack. (If a cookie becomes too firm to shape, return it to cookie sheet and place in oven to soften slightly.)
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 with remaining batter. (Batter will become slightly thicker upon standing.) Store tulipes in single layer in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
To serve, place tulipes on dessert plates and fill with ice cream or sorbet.