Christmas Meringue Cookies - Trees and Santa Hats
Make festive Christmas meringue cookies with this easy recipe! Light, crispy, and beautifully decorated, these cookies are perfect for holiday parties or gifting.
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup sugar
- green food coloring
- red gel food coloring
- gold star sprinkles
- rainbow non-pareils
Instructions
Meringue
- Begin with room temperature egg whites. Place the egg whites into the large bowl of a stand mixer, ensuring there’s not even a small amount of yolk present.
- Add cream of tartar to the egg whites and start whisking at a medium speed using the whisk attachment.
- Gradually add sugar while the mixer is still running on medium speed.
- Include a dash of vanilla extract for a hint of flavor.
- Whisk on medium-high speed until the mixture forms stiff peaks. You’ll know you’ve got it right when the peaks stand up proudly and don’t slump over.
- Gently mix in any colorings or flavorings if you’re aiming for Christmas tree meringues or peppermint meringues. Be careful not to deflate your perfectly whisked egg whites.
Christmas Tree Meringues
- Preheat your oven to a low temperature of 200 degrees.
- Add green food coloring to the meringue batter. Mix with the hand mixer or stand mixer just until the color is fully incorporated. Do not over-mix, or your batter could deflate.
- Transfer meringue batter into a piping bag with a large star tip.
- Pipe the meringue mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With the star nozzle, pipe a small mound of meringue using an upward spiral motion. Repeat until all the piping bag is empty.
- Decorate your meringue Christmas trees with a carefully placed gold star on the tip of each meringue tree. Add a sprinkle of the rainbow nonpareils.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours. Keep the oven door closed to avoid temperature fluctuations.
- After 2 hours of baking, turn the heat off and crack the oven door. Use a wooden spoon handle to keep the door slightly cracked. Allow it to set for an additional hour. Cooling the cookies slowly prevents cracking.
Santa Hat Meringues
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Transfer half of the meringue into a piping bag with a large round tip for the base of the hats.
- Mix in the red gel food coloring to the remaining meringue until seamlessly blended, then fill a separate piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Pipe a circle of white meringue onto the parchment. Use the bag with the large star tip to pipe a star of red meringue on top of each white circle to create the hat shape. Finish with a white meringue dot for the pom-pom.
- Bake for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the door closed. Let the meringues sit inside for an additional hour to dry out. After an hour, remove the pan from the oven and allow the cookies to completely cool before storing or eating.
Notes
Meringue cookies will keep up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookieCalories: 17kcalCarbohydrates: 4.2gProtein: 0.3gSodium: 3mgPotassium: 8mgSugar: 4.2g
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