DIY Mother's Day Meringue Kisses

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 2/3 cup superfine sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• red gel food colouring (or another desired colour)
• 1/2 cup white candy melts, melted
• coloured sprinkles or coarse sugar

Instructions

• Wash your hands, bowls and any utensils you will be using for this recipe to remove any trace of grease.
• Preheat oven to 200F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high until very foamy, then add sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until combined. Continue whisking, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until stiff and glossy peaks form when whisk is lifted and sugar has dissolved, approximately 2 to 4 min. (Meringue should not feel gritty when mixture is rubbed between your fingers.) Add vanilla. Dip the tip of a skewer into gel food colouring and swirl through meringue. Whisk until combined.
• Scrape meringue into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-in.-round tip. Holding the bag with your tip close to the parchment, gently squeeze bag and pipe a 2-in.-wide meringue. Release bag and pull up to make a pointed tip. Repeat, piping meringues 1-in. apart.
• Bake in centre of oven for 2 hours. Without opening oven door, turn off heat and leave meringues in the oven until completely cool, 4 to 6 hours, preferably overnight.
• Pour melted candy melts onto a large plate. Pour sprinkles into a small bowl. Dip the bottom of a cooled meringue into candy melts, then dip into sprinkles. Set on a platter to enjoy.

Shopping tip