Old-Time Penny Candy Buttons - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 12x16 pieces of parchment paper
2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons meringue powder
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 drop pink, yellow, and blue food coloring paste, or as needed

Preparation

Cut 10 strips of parchment paper, 2-inches wide by 16-inches long.
Sift confectioner's sugar and meringue powder together in a bowl; beat in water and vanilla extract until smooth.
Divide sugar mixture evenly into three bowls; beat in small amounts of different food coloring paste into each bowl until desired color has been achieved.
Place a #3 pastry tip into end of pastry bag; fill with one of the tinted sugar mixtures. Pipe buttons about the size of a penny onto parchment strips, 3 rows across. Repeat with remaining tinted sugar mixtures. Dry until buttons are hard, about 8 hours.