Craftibilities: valentine's Day cookies

OH WOW!!!! These cookies are gooooood! My Grandmother use to make these every Christmas but I've never tried to make them myself. I always thought they were probably way to complicated and tons of work. BUT they're not! YAY!! Plus they make a ton for easy gift giving. Double YAY!

I found THIS recipe last Thursday and thought I would make them Valentine's Day-ish. I'm addicted to EDIBLE HOLOGRAPHIC GLITTER I used on our NYE cookies so these HAD to be glittered too. It's hard to capture how glittery and AWESOME they look. Just imagine super sparkles!!!

They are bite size (a little bigger than a quarter) so I didn't feel so guilty eating 10 of them. I felt guilty after about 30. They melt in your mouth....literally!

Mini chocolate chips are pictured but I decided to leave them out this time.

1 c - sugar

1 tsp - vanilla extract

4 - egg whites (room temperature)

1/2 tsp - cream of tartar

1/2 c -chocolate chips (optional)

edible glitter (optional)

Use the whisk attachment for free standing mixers

Medium speed beat eggs until frothy

Add cream of tartar and beat until peaks form

Increase speed to medium high and add sugar slowly. This part required some patience so I opted for a helper to add the sugar one tbsp at a time. Highly recommended :)

Sugar should be dissolved and forming stiff peaks. Added food color to make them pink. Ooooh pretty!

I used a big cupcake decorating tip and ziplock bag. Cookie sheets are lined with foil and meringues are maybe the size of a quarter or a little bigger.

They don't get any larger when baking (or much larger) so they are pretty close together. Two large baking sheets and they fit 66 per sheet.

Bake 225 degrees for 50 mins and then turn the oven off and let them sit for an additional hour in the oven. They were still a little warm after an hour but okay to take out.

I used all the meringue and baked both sheets at the same time.

Ooooh Ahhhhh! So sparkly!

They don't bag really well so I put them in little plastic cups, cello gift bag, and ribbon. PERFECT!

Easy to make and they were a success (which doesn't happen with every recipe) I'm now thinking Easter pastels, St. Patricks day, etc. They would be awesome for anything!