Red, White and Blue Meringues

Level: Intermediate
Yield: about 22 meringues
Nutritional Analysis Per Serving: Serving Size 1 of 22 servings; Calories 125; Total Fat 5 g; Saturated Fat 3 g; Carbohydrates 19 g; Dietary Fiber 0 g; Sugar 19 g; Protein 1 g; Cholesterol 3 mg; Sodium 31 mg
Total Time: 4 hr 50 min (including drying and setting time)
Active Time: 45 min

These festive red, white, and blue meringues are easy to prepare and use a clever decorating trick: paint lines of gel food coloring inside a pastry bag before filling it with meringue so each piped cookie has colorful stripes. The same approach works well for frosting when decorating cupcakes.

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Red and blue food coloring, preferably gel
One 11-ounce package white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
1/2 cup mixed red, white, and blue sprinkles or red sanding sugar

Special equipment: Disposable pastry bag; small paintbrush or wooden skewer

Preheat oven racks in the lower third of the oven to 250F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form.
Set the pastry bag in a tall container and fold the top over the container's edge so it stands upright. Use the paintbrush or skewer to draw a thin line of red gel food coloring from bottom to top on one side of the bag and a blue line on the opposite side. Carefully fill the bag with meringue without disturbing the painted lines. Cut the tip of the bag to create a 1/4- to 1/2-inch opening and pipe 1-inch mounds of meringue, spaced 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake until the meringues lose their gloss and feel light and dry to the touch, about 1 hour. Crack the oven door briefly for a few minutes, then turn off the oven and let the meringues dry inside for about 2 more hours until completely dry. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
For the coating, melt white chocolate chips and coconut oil together in a microwave-safe bowl, heating on high 1 to 2 minutes and stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.
Dip the base of each meringue into the melted chocolate, let excess drip off, then immediately dip into sprinkles or sanding sugar. Set on parchment and let the coating harden completely, about 1 hour.

Gel food coloring is preferred because it adheres better when painted inside the pastry bag and gives more vibrant colors than standard water-based food colorings.