Description
These Christmas Meringue Cookies are light, airy, and perfectly sweet with a refreshing peppermint flavor. Featuring festive red and green colors, they are ideal for holiday celebrations and can be piped into charming star shapes. Baked slowly at a low temperature to achieve a dry, crisp texture, these cookies are a delightful, melt-in-your-mouth treat perfect for sharing.
Ingredients
Scale
Meringue Base
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup caster sugar
- ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
- gel food coloring (red and green)
Instructions
- Beat Egg Whites: Beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy, which should take about 30 seconds.
- Add Stabilizers: Incorporate the white vinegar and cornstarch, then continue beating until soft peaks form, about one minute.
- Incorporate Sugar: Slowly add caster sugar in a steady stream while beating. Then add peppermint extract and beat for about 4 minutes until stiff peaks form.
- Prepare Piping Bag: Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, draw lines on the inside of the bag with red gel food coloring. Fill the bag halfway with the meringue mixture.
- Pipe Cookies: Pipe one-inch star-shaped cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat the process with the other half of the meringue mixture, using green gel food coloring in the piping bag.
- Bake: Place the baking sheets in a 200 degree oven and bake for about 80 minutes.
- Dry: After baking, turn off the oven and leave the cookies inside for an additional 4 hours or overnight to dry thoroughly.
- Store: Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
- Don’t add the sugar too soon; wait until the egg whites look foamy before adding it to ensure the meringue becomes fluffy.
- Carefully separate the yolks from the whites to prevent any yolk contamination, which can prevent stiff peaks.
- Check your oven temperature accurately; a lower, steady temperature dries the cookies without browning or losing their light texture.
- Meringue cookies are best eaten within a few hours after baking, though they can be stored for up to a week.
- Caster sugar has no exact substitute, but you can make your own by pulsing granulated sugar in a food processor until fine. Do not substitute powdered sugar.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 15 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 5 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 4 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
