Since we had so much fun making lemon pudding with the fluffy egg whites – Pebbles and I tried making meringue cookies for the first time! Two types – vanilla and strawberry.  This is a hybrid recipe between her kids baking book from the library and searching online for adding Torani syrup.  Not only did we have both strawberry or raspberry Torani in the refrigerator which could make a lovely and yummy pink meringue … but the sky tonight was a soft gorgeous pink as well after the hot summer rain.

VANILLA or STRAWBERRY MERINGUE COOKIES

• 4 egg whites
• 2/3 cup white sugar or superfine sugar
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Torani syrup your choice – we selected Strawberry – roughly 1/4 cup.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Using electric hand mixer beat at HIGHEST speed the cream of tartar and all egg whites until stiff peaks form and won’t slide when bowl tipped over.
3. At a slower speed now, gently add in 1 tsp. at a time of the sugar and keep mixing in until all sugar is mixed in.
4. Stir in the vanilla.
5. If desired – save out some of the meringue and add in some Torani syrup a TINY bit at a time until the color has changed and you can smell the aroma. Hand stir only – no electric mixing.
6. Using either two spoons or an icing bag with a large tip drop the meringue onto a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone baking liner. We tried both and the silicone worked much better.
7. If you want a spot to place whipped cream and berries just flatten out a little area on top with a spoon.
8. Bake for 2 hours or until dry and slightly golden.

Both were delicious! The meringues with the Torani had a bit of a cooked, shiny rim around the bottom – while the straight vanilla cookies did not.  The meringues with the Torani were ever so slightly more chewy maybe than the other ones. Very sweet !!  The cooked strawberry meringues became more of a warm golden color than staying the beautiful pale pink color. Not sure if adding a food coloring would have helped it stay more pink? They came off easily from the parchment or the silicone liner – cooled on wire rack for a bit. The vanilla meringues were even better with whipped cream and a couple fresh berries on hand.