Valentine Sweets ~ Pink Heart Meringue Cookies

I made something sweet for my sweet to celebrate Valentine’s Day. 🙂

These crisp meringue cookies are tinted a lovely shade of pink with the simple addition of a little beet juice. For those of you without a juicer (like me!), I processed a couple of roasted red beets in a food processor. Then I put the beets into a few layers of cheesecloth and squeezed out as much juice as I could. Voila…nature’s red food coloring!

Use these little hearts to make a schaum torte, an Eton mess, or just eat them on their own. 🙂

Pink Heart Meringue Cookies

4 egg whites, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon red beet juice

Preheat oven to 225 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Wipe the bowl and whisk attachment of a stand mixer with vinegar to ensure it is free of any oil.

Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to the bowl of the stand mixer, and whisk until they begin to look frothy. Very slowly sprinkle in the sugar while continuing to whisk. The mixture will become thick and glossy with stiff peaks. Rub a small amount of the mixture between your fingers, and if it is smooth with no sugar granules remaining, you are there. At this point, add the salt, cornstarch, vanilla, and beet juice, and whisk until just combined.

Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

On the prepared baking sheets, pipe the mixture into heart shapes.

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then turn off the oven, but leave the meringues in the oven for another 30 minutes. Let cool completely.