In our house there are the pro-liquorice people (P. and my daughter S.) and the not-so-pro liquorice person (me). K. is too small so his verdict is still out. I hope he teams up with me…
P. is from Sweden and it seems that these Nordic people have a thing for the black stuff. Sweet, salty or super salty. With ice-cream or chocolate or just plain and simple, straight out of the bag. I have tried it but I’m afraid I will be keeping my love affair with these gems to lightly tasting it on P.’s lips when I kiss him goodnight (he likes to eat it in bed when reading a good book).

P. is also a big fan of meringues, in any shape or form. If it’s been whipped to stiff peaks and baked nice and slowly to reveal a paper thin, crunchy top, he’ll be eating it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all the other mealtimes that haven’t been invented yet.
This is my ode to my husband-to-be: liquorice meringues (they were gone within 24 hours). Try it and see if you are team pro or team not-so-pro.

Liquorice meringues
(makes about 10, depending on the size of meringues you make)
2 egg whites
100gr sugar
2 tsp liquorice powder
optional: 1/4 tsp black food colouring
Method:
Preheat the oven to 130degrees C
In a clean, glass or stainless steel bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric handmixer until soft peaks from. You can also use a standmixer with the whisk attached.
Add the sugar a tbsp at a time. Makes sure the sugar dissolves between each addition. You can check this by putting some egg white between your thumb and index finger and rubbing them together. If you feel the grains, whip some more.
Whisk until all the sugar is incorporated and you have stiff, shiny peaks.
Gently fold in the liquorice powder.
If using food colouring, stir the teaspoon through the meringue mixtures a couple of times to get a marbled effect.
Spoon the mixture in a piping bag or a large freezer bag of which you have snipped off a corner.
Pipe meringues on a lined baking tray. Any shape is fine, be creative.
Baked for 50-60 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy!
