Gigi's Famous Meringues: Valentine's Day Edition!

I was SO excited when my husband's grandma, "Gigi", gave me the green light to blog about one of our family's favorite desserts! She passed along her fantastic recipe a few years ago, and my husband's face lights up whenever I make them. These pretty little meringues are light, creamy and fluffy with perfectly crispy edges - the perfect dessert for any gathering and especially wonderful as a special treat for your Valentine!

There's just something special about a pretty pink dessert!

You will need:

4 egg whites

1 tsp. vanilla

a pinch of Kosher salt

1 cup superfine sugar (Gigi insists!)

1 tsp. cream of Tartar

1/2 cup chocolate chips for drizzling

pink food dye

Start by carefully separating your egg whites in to a bowl.

 Hang out casually while your mixer beats the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form.

Teach your child the merits of Devo as the two of you sing "Whip it good"...

 Grab a measuring cup...

 And add one cup of sugar.

 The superfine sugar will make your meringues extra creamy. Gigi just made this swap recently and swears by this stuff!

 And, if you are reasonable, you will do it Gigi's way.

 Pour in a teaspoon of vanilla. 

My sous is a pro and eyeballs it!

 I used a quarter teaspoon of Wilton liquid icing color for a vibrant pink meringue. 

Once you try Wilton's icing color, you will never go back to the old stuff. 

It's the absolute best for preserving the integrity of your color (for example, use just a bit for a perfect red frosting instead of six bottles of red food coloring!).

 Look at that beautiful pink color!

 Prep your icing bag with a 1M Wilton tip.

You can purchase pastry bags here and the 1M tip here.

 Then get busy piping little florets into parchment (or brown bags, like Gigi uses!).

 Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes then cool completely.

 Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a bowl in 20 second increments (if you go a smidge over and your chocolate starts to seize, you can add a splash of heavy cream).

 Dunk a whole meringue in chocolate and go to town!

Using a small baggie with the tip snipped (or a pastry bag...or a plastic bottle), drizzle each meringue with chocolate.

Then share them with someone you love!

Special thanks to one of the kindest, strongest, funniest, sweetest, most amazing ladies my girls are lucky enough to call Gigi. 

We are so thankful for you and this fantastic recipe! 

Happy Valentine's Day, Friends!