Festive Meringues

Preheat oven to 200 F (100 C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In bowl, beat egg whites (use either electric handheld or stand mixer) until soft white peaks form, then beat in cream of tartar and salt. Tip: Do not add cream of tartar before beating to soft peaks or meringue will not keep its shape).

Beat in sugar a couple tablespoons at a time until mixture is white, dense and shiny and “pulls up” into peaks that hold their shape (the tops will bend a little but the peaks will not slide back into the mixture).

To colour-streak the egg whites, add 1 drop of food colouring to the beaten egg whites. Use a regular teaspoon to draw in one motion the food colouring through the egg whites to form a ribbon of colour. Do not stir the colouring around because you will disperse the colour through the egg whites and not achieve a coloured streak running through. Also be careful there is no “pooled” food colouring that is not “bled” into the egg whites; if there is pooled colouring, “draw” the spoon again through it (colour-streaking is easier than it sounds).

Using a clean teaspoon, scoop into the colour-streaked egg whites, spooning up 2 tablespoons at a time. Use your finger to scrape the egg white off the spoon and onto the parchment paper, creating a peaked dollop.

Continue making dollops 2 inches (5 cm) apart on sheets. Add drops of food colouring one at a time and streaking through as you “use up” the colour-streaked portions of egg white. Sprinkle each dollop with a pinch of decorative sugar.

Bake on middle racks of oven 1 hour. Keeping meringues in oven, turn off heat and allow meringues to dry in closed oven 1 additional hour. Makes 50 Festive Meringues. Store in sealed container in dry place (not the fridge) up to 2 weeks.