FRESH RASPBERRY MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 170°F, or the lowest setting on your oven that is closest to this temperature. Move your oven rack to the top third of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Combine raspberries and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir often, crushing berries with the back of a wooden spoon as they cook. As soon as the rasberry mixture becomes syrupy, remove the pan from the heat. Strain the berry mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup, pressing down on the berries with a rubber spatula to extract all the juices. You should have about 1/2 cup of raspberry sauce. Discard the seeds and stir the vanilla extract into the sauce. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before proceeding.
• Place egg whites in a mixing bowl and sprinkle the cream of tartar over them. Use a mixer to beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.
• Stir the cooled raspberry sauce, then gently fold 1/3 of the sauce into the beaten egg whites. Repeat two more times with the remaining 2/3 of the raspberry sauce.
• Spoon meringue into a gallon-size zip-top baggie, forcing the mixture to one corner of the bag. Snip about 1/4" from the corner of the bag so meringues can be piped onto the prepared pan. Pipe out 1 1/2 inch swirled circles onto baking sheet, making sure that the meringues don't touch. If you prefer, meringues can be gently scooped and dropped by rounded teaspoonfuls instead of piping.
• Bake for 2 hours at 170°F, rotating the baking sheet after 1 hour so they will dry evenly. When done, the meringues should not have any browning, and they should be dark pink in color.
• Turn off the oven and allow meringues to remain in the oven for at least two hours to finish drying, or you can leave them in the oven overnight.
• Meringues can be stored in an airtight container for 5 days, or they can be frozen for up to one month. If frozen, allow to thaw to room temp before serving.