Christmas Meringue Cookies
Indulge in the festive spirit with these ethereal Christmas Meringue Cookies that are as light as a snowflake and as delightful as a holiday cheer. Perfect for your holiday dessert table, these meringues are a sweet treat that promises to bring smiles and joy with every bite.
Light, airy, and delicately sweet, these meringue cookies are a delightful treat perfect for any occasion.
This recipe yields approximately 75 bite-sized meringues that are crisp on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth on the inside.
Decorated with drizzled white chocolate and candy cane sprinkles, they look as good as they taste.
Feel free to get creative with different decorations like sprinkles, nuts, or coconut. These cookies make a fun baking project and impressive addition to any dessert table or cookie tray.
Ingredients
Egg Whites: The foundation of our meringues, make sure they're fresh for the best volume.
Superfine Sugar: This dissolves easily for a smooth, non-gritty texture.
Vanilla Extract: Adds a warm, rich flavor. Opt for pure extract for the best taste.
Cream of Tartar: Stabilizes the egg whites and gives the meringues their characteristic crispness.
Salt: Just a pinch to balance the sweetness.
Gel Food Coloring: Choose a festive color to add a cheerful touch to your cookies.
How to Make Christmas Meringue Cookies
Preparation: Start by preheating your oven to 200°F and lining your baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whipping the Whites: In your mixer, whisk the egg whites and salt until frothy. Add cream of tartar and then the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until you achieve glossy peaks.
Flavoring: Infuse the meringue by adding in the vanilla extract, continuing to beat until you can no longer feel sugar granules. You can check if it's ready by pinching off a little and then rolling the meringue in between your finger and thumb. You're trying to see if you can feel any grittiness. If you do feel any of the gritty sugar, then continue to beat the meringue until it's gone.
How to Make Meringues: Fill a pastry bag with the meringue by snipping off the tip of a pastry bag, inserting your tip and then filling it with the meringue.
Pipe it out onto the baking sheet, creating peaks or swirls. Keep the bag perpendicular for uniform shapes.
How to Make Striped Meringues: If you're going for stripes, paint the inside of your pastry bag before filling it with meringue.
Baking and Drying: Bake for an hour, then let the meringues sit in the closed oven for 2 hours or overnight to dry out and achieve that perfect crunch.
Decorating
Melting Chocolate: Melt white chocolate in a saucepan or microwave, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
Adding Toppings: Quickly drizzle or dip meringues in chocolate, then add decorations before the chocolate hardens.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes:
Frosted Molasses Cookies
Italian Christmas Cookies
Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies
Pecan Pie Cookies
Tips for Making the Best Meringues
Here are some of my best tips for making these meringues:
- Use room temperature egg whites. Cold eggs whites will not whip up properly.
- Make sure your bowl and beaters are super clean and free of grease. Any fat will prevent the eggs whites from whipping up.
- Beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy before adding cream of tartar and sugar. This helps stabilize the eggs.
- Add the sugar slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time. If you add too much at once, it can take longer to dissolve.
- Beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Do the "rubber band test" - a bit of meringue should not break when stretched between your fingers.
- Pipe the meringues quickly before the mixture starts to deflate.
- Let the cookies cool completely in the oven after baking. The residual heat continues to dry them.
- Store in an airtight container in a dry environment. Humidity will cause meringues to soften.
- When decorating, wait until any drizzles or sprinkles set before packaging.
- Meringues can be made 1-2 days ahead. Freeze for longer storage.
Leftovers
At Room Temperature
Keep them in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freezer
Freeze for up to a month, but be warned, they might not retain their crispness.
Reheating
Not recommended, as meringues are best enjoyed at room temperature.
F.A.Q.'s
Can I make meringues on a humid day?
It's best to avoid making meringues when it's humid as they can absorb moisture and become sticky.
Why are my meringues chewy?
Chewiness can result from underbaking or not allowing them to dry out enough in the oven.
Why did my meringues crack?
Fluctuations in oven temperature can cause meringues to crack. Try to keep the oven door closed during baking.
How do I know when my meringues are done?
They should be crisp on the outside and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
More Favorite Cookies
Christmas Meringue Cookies
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- saucepan
- 2 pastry bags
- 2 pastry tips with desired openings (round and flower are used in mine)
- small paintbrush
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites room temperature
- ¾ cup superfine sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- pinch salt
- gel food coloring red or dark pink
- decorating: sanding sugar, melted white chocolate, non pareils, crushed candy cane, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°F. Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper.
- Add egg whites and salt to a stand mixer and mix on medium until frothy.
- Add cream of tartar and combine at medium high speed.
- Beat in sugar, adding 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Add in vanilla extract and continue to mix at medium high speed.
- Once the meringue starts to become stiff with peaks, check if it is ready by pinching off a little and rolling the meringue between your thumb and finger. You are feeling for any gritty sugar. If you can feel any gritty sugar, continue to beat the meringue until it is gone.
- If making striped Meringues, see "Striped Meringues" section below. Or if you are making both striped and plain white meringues, set some batter aside for the plain white meringues and make the striped meringues.
- Trim the bottom of the bag and drop your pastry tip inside.
- Fill your bag with Meringue. Try to poke out any air holes with the back of the paintbrush or a skewer. Twist the top of the bag.
- Holding the pastry bag straight up and down, hold over the baking sheet and squeeze, pulling up to create peaks. If you want to create the ice cream cone look, use the round pastry tip and in very small movements, move the bag around in a circle and pull up to create a peak.
- Bake for 1 hour and let the meringues stay in the oven to dry for 2 hours or overnight.
Striped Meringues
- Turn pastry bag inside out before filling. Keep an inch pulled through the bottom as you'll be trimming this off and inserting your pastry tip. Place the pastry bag over a glass to keep in place and dip your paintbrush into the gel food color and draw stripes on the bag.
- Remove the bag from the glass, reach hand into bag to reach the bottom and pull the tip through so the stripes are now on the inside of the bag. Trim the bottom off the bag and drop your flower pastry tip inside. Continue with step 9 above.
Decorating
- Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Crush candy canes and set out any other decorations you want to use.
- Drizzle white chocolate over the meringues, sprinkle red sanding sugar and crushed candy canes over the white chocolate before it sets up.
