Raspberry Confetti Meringues

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season, finishing out 2015 on a joyous note, and gearing up for a great 2016! With many of you going to New Year’s Eve and Day parties, I wanted to share a simple, festive, fun little cookie that you can easily whip up — these Raspberry Confetti Meringues. After eating lots of heavy, indulgent holiday food, these are delightfully light, airy, and waistline-friendly. I absolutely LOVE meringue cookies — they’ve got a great crispy crunch, but then melt in your mouth. This version features a raspberry meringue cookie, studded with mini chocolate chips on the inside, and topped with cheery little sprinkles. I used star-shaped sprinkles, since they seemed especially celebratory, but any kind will do.

This recipe is particularly fabulous because it’s so adaptable. Don’t like raspberry? Use a different JELL-O flavor like cherry, orange, lime, or strawberry. Don’t have mini-chocolate chips on hand? Fold in extra sprinkles instead, or omit anything from the inside of the cookie, and simply top with sprinkles. Have a particular party color scheme you’re working with? Tweak your cookie and sprinkles color and flavor to best work with that theme. Really, the possibilities are endless!

Raspberry Confetti Meringues

makes 4 dozen meringues, adapted from easybaked

Ingredients

3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 1/2 tablespoons raspberry Jell-O (the traditional kind, NOT the sugar-free kind)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional, you can omit if you prefer)
1/4 cup (approximately) colorful sprinkles, for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to  225º F. Cover 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and secure paper with masking tape (or use a Silat-type liner instead).

Place egg whites and salt in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer; beat with a mixer at medium speed until foaming. Increase speed to high, and add JELL-O powder and granulated sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Add vinegar and gently mix. Gently fold in mini chocolate chips, if using.

Spoon batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large circle tip. Pipe roughly 4-dozen mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, and top with sprinkles as pictured.

Bake at 225º for 1 hour. Turn oven off; cool meringues in closed oven 1 1/2 hours or until dry. Carefully remove the meringues from paper.

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