4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon raspberry extract (and/or other flavors, if desired) *see note
Food coloring, optional

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Place the bowl on top of a medium sauce pan filled with a couple of inches of barely simmering water and set over medium heat. Gently whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the standing mixer (if you're not using a standing mixer, just remove the bowl from heat and use a hand mixer), and whisk the mixture on high until stiff peaks form. If making several colors or flavors, divide the mixture into separate bowls and gently stir in the extracts and food colorings.

Fit a pastry bag per color/flavor  with a Wilton #4 writing tip (or comparable), fill each bag with meringue, and pipe small circles, slightly larger than Cheerios onto prepared baking sheets. Refill bag as necessary. Pipe all of the meringue immediately, even if you can't bake it all at the same time.

Bake rings until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

To make meringue heart pendants: Pipe large hearts (about 1 1/2-inches across) onto the prepared baking sheets. Place a baked and cooled ring in the center of the heart, standing on its side, to act as the loop that will connect the heart to the necklace. Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes, until crisp but not brown. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

* You will need 1 teaspoon total flavoring for this recipe, so if you divide it into 4 flavors, each flavor will get 1/4 teaspoon of its respective flavor.

** For important tips and tricks, please see original post: Sweet Homemade Candy Necklaces