4th of July Meringue Cookies

Yield: 60 cookies

4th of July Meringue Cookies

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Rest Time 6 hours

Total Time 7 hours 40 minutes

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Patriotic Meringue Cookies to celebrate Independence Day! This red, white and blue dessert makes a festive addition to your 4th of July celebrations. Melt in your mouth cookies bursting with fun flavors!

Ingredients

4 egg whites, room temperature
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 Tablespoon corn starch
1 cup sugar (I like to use caster sugar, see note)
1 Tablespoon cherry Jello mix (powder)
1 Tablespoon berry blue Jello mix (powder
½ teaspoon lemon extract
Red and Blue gel food coloring, optional

Instructions

In mixing bowl (that is completely clean and DRY), beat egg whites until foamy (about 30 seconds). Add vinegar and corn starch and continue to beat for another minute until soft peaks form. In a slow stream, add sugar. Beat for about 4-5 minutes until stiff peaks form.
Divide mixture into thirds. Beat in red gelatin and red food coloring to one third, blue jello and blue food coloring to second, and lemon extract to third. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Fill pastry bags with meringue (one color in each bag) and pipe using a star tip.
Place baking sheets in 200 degree oven for 90 minutes. Turn oven off and leave meringues in oven for 6 hours, or overnight, to harden.

Notes

Make overnight. I usually bake the meringues in the evening then leave them to harden overnight. The next day you'll wake up to ready-to-eat meringue cookies!
Storing. Transfer hardened 4th of July Meringue Cookies to an airtight container or ziploc bag. Store for up to 1 week.
Divide egg whites carefully. Meringue recipes are a time to be extra precise when separating egg whites from the yolks. Even a tiny bit of yolk will make it more difficult to whip the meringue into stiff peaks.
Use a clean, dry metal bowl. Make sure your bowl is completely DRY before adding the ingredients!
Use an oven thermometer. Most home ovens do not give accurate temperature readings. To ensure the meringues bake to the perfect consistency, buy an oven thermometer to check that the temperature is a perfect 200 F.
JELL-O mix. We use cherry and berry blue gelatin powder for flavor and added in some gel food coloring to achieve these fantastic colors. You could skip the gelatin, just use the lemon extract and food coloring too.
Food Coloring. Be sure to use a gel food coloring, not liquid. Add enough to achieve desired color.
Caster sugar. If you can't find caster sugar, process granulated sugar in a food processor until fine. Sometimes you'll find it labeled as "superfine" sugar. But it's NOT powdered sugar.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 16Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 6mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 0g

*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.