Spooky Halloween Meringue Monsters

To create the colorful monster effect, turn your piping bags inside out. Use a clean paintbrush to apply thick stripes of green or purple food coloring from the tip to halfway down the bag. Carefully invert the bags back to normal and spoon the meringue inside, shaking it down to remove large air bubbles.

Line your baking trays with parchment paper. Snip about an inch off the tip of the piping bags. Squeeze a tiny dot of meringue onto the corners of the trays to act as glue, securing the parchment paper in place.

Hold the piping bag vertically about 2cm above the tray. Squeeze from the top to form a round base. Stop squeezing, lift the bag slightly, and then squeeze again to create a second, smaller layer on top, forming a 'blobby' monster body.

Repeat until all the mixture is used, working quickly to prevent the meringue from softening. Bake for 40–50 minutes until the monsters are crisp on the outside. Turn off the oven and let them cool completely on the trays.

If making your own eyes, pipe small dots of white royal icing onto parchment and add a tiny dot of black gel coloring for the pupil. Let these set overnight. Once the meringues are cool, use a tiny dab of leftover icing to stick the eyes onto your monsters. Store in a cool, dry place for up to two weeks.