Pretty, Pink and Sweet

Last week we told you we would be bringing you some yummy recipes using those plentiful strawberries you find in every grocery store right now.  So today we have a great one for you.  It’s so easy, so sweet and yummy and so pink.  And as if that wasn’t enough, these delicious oversized meringues are gluten-free too!  These are so simple:

Dried Strawberry Meringues

8 egg whites at room temp
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
dash of salt
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup dried strawberries (recipe below)

Beat the egg whites until frothy.  Add vinegar and sugar and continue beating.  Begin adding sugar, a tablespoon at a time, while you continue to beat.  When all the sugar has been added, add vanilla and continue beating until the whites are doubled in volume and there are stiff peaks.

Take out half of the meringue from the mixing bowl and set aside.  To the remaining egg whites, add a couple of drops of pink or red food coloring.  Stir this in and then add more to achieve the color you like.  Add dried strawberries to the meringue and stir together.

When your pink meringue is thoroughly mixed, add all of the white meringue to the bowl and, using a knife, swirl the pink and white meringues just to barely blend so that both colors are still visible.

Drop big spoonfuls of swirled meringue on a baking sheet covered with a silpat liner or parchment paper.

Allow the meringues to sit while you preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  Place meringues in oven for 1 1/2 hours.  Turn off oven and leave in the oven until it is cool.  When oven is completely cool, remove meringues and peel them off the silat liner or parchment paper.  These are best eaten within 48 hours.  Makes 12 large meringues.

Dried Strawberries

Cut the tops off one package of strawberries.  Slice strawberries into thin slices.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Place pan in oven that has been set to your oven’s lowest temperature setting (usually that is 175 degrees).  Allow the sliced strawberries to cook for 3+ hours until the strawberries are dehydrated.  Remove from oven and cool completely.  Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag until you are ready to use them.

These are so easy and so good and while we are using strawberries in these meringues, you could easily substitute blueberries, or raspberries or even crushed peppermint at Christmas time would be delicious.  Get creative and try some different flavors and let us know how they are.  Whatever flavor you try these will be crisp and crunchy on the outside and a bit chewy on the inside.   And because they are gluten free these are treats everyone can enjoy.  More love, more joy and lots of abundant living!

P.S. We mentioned how you could make these meringues a treat for Christmas. In my (Robin) family, August feels a bit like Christmas as we have so many family birthdays…there are 8 birthdays in our family this month alone!  Last week on Thursday and Friday I told you about two of my darling grandchildren who were celebrating birthdays.  Today it is my sweet daughter, Carrie’s turn.  Carrie is smart, creative, caring, very organized, fiercely loyal, and a terrific mother, wife, sister, aunt and daughter.  She is full of love and joy and makes all of our lives so very abundant.  Happy Birthday sweetie! XO