For years I have seen boxes of meringue kisses in different colors at the grocery store. I have only made Mini Pavlovas with Fresh Berries, another egg white recipe, but have never attempted meringue cookies.
For the holidays and to spruce up your cup of hot cocoa, we have moved it up a notch and made peppermint meringue kisses & candy canes. These are actually much more simple than I imagined, and most importantly, they will last for up to two weeks.
The perfect make-ahead Christmas cookie or really anytime dessert. If you need a recipe for your egg yolks, be sure to check out our Italian Lemon Cake.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE MERINGUES
Simple ingredients for a beautiful and delicate dessert. These are perfect for Dairy, Gluten and Peanut Free Dessert.
- 3 large egg whites
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 drop peppermint concentrate , or 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
- Red gel-paste food coloring
How to make Peppermint Meringues
These sweet treats are best made in a stand up mixer fitted with a whisk attachement.. I am sure back in the day, these were done by hand, but why do that now.
WHAT SHOULD MY EGGS LOOK LIKE WHEN MAKING MERINGUES
You want shiny egg whites like this.
HOW TO I MAKE COLORED STRIPES ON MERINGUE COOKIES?
For the striped effect, use a new paintbrush and add lines of gel food coloring inside the piping bag. Here is a filled bag. I could not get a good photo before adding the meringue batter.
Then squeeze away.
WHAT TYPE OF KITCHEN TOOLS DO I NEED TO PIPE EGG WHITE TO MAKE PEPPERMINT MERINGUES
Use a large French star tip. Carefully spoon the meringue into the bag.
Pipe 2-inch meringues about 1 inch apart on the prepared pans.
Bake the meringues in a low oven until hardened. (You will also leave them in the oven for an hour more to completely dry out)
HOW TO MAKE DIFFERENT SHAPE MERINGUE
Of course, we had to try something a little more fun for the holidays. When it comes to red and white stripes, I can only think about candy canes.
They are already flavored with peppermint, so candy cane shapes it was.
While meringues are pretty fragile cookies, they candy canes kept their shape without a problem.
So next time you are serving someone a cup of hot cocoa, be sure to add one of these adorable meringue cookies to the edge of the cup.
Of course we also added a few meringue kisses, they deserve the same amount of attention.
Peppermint Meringue Kisses Recipe
Peppermint Meringue Kisses
a super easy and festive cookie that will last for 2 weeks in a storage container. Peppermint Meringue Kisses
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup superfine sugar
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Red food coloring, preferably gel
Instructions
- Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. While beating, add the sugar slowly. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in the peppermint extract.
- Fold the top of a pastry bag fitted with a star tip #22 or #21 over and down a few inches. Dip a new paintbrush in the food coloring. Starting inside the pastry tip, brush a stroke of food coloring from the tip to the 3/4 up the bag. Repeat with 3 more evenly spaced strokes. Fill the bag with the meringue; try to spoon it directly into the center so as not to smudge the food coloring (though some smudging is inevitable). Pipe 1-inch-diameter mounds of meringue spaced 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheets or pipe 3 inch candy canes.
- Bake until the meringues for 25 minutes, then switch the cookie sheets. Bake another 25 minutes until they are no longer glossy and feel light and dry when picked up. Open the oven for a few minutes, then turn it off and shut the door. Leave the meringues in the oven until they are completely dry inside, about 1 hour
Nutrition Information
Yield 30 Serving Size 1 cookieAmount Per Serving Calories 21Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 6mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 0gSugar 5gProtein 0g
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on stayingclosetohome.com should only be used as a general guideline.
Such a fun addition to any holiday party!
This is the perfect time to make meringues — no humidity! Great idea pairing them with hot cocoa.
Wow! The candies look great and festive. Maringue is difficult for me to make, but you seems to have nailed it!
these are so neat! I don’t know if it will last 2 weeks in this house – these are all going in my belly! 🙂
These turned out so great!! They are so pretty and just perfect for the holidays. I have to say I’m a little intimidated by meringue and have never made baked meringue; but these are so cute I think I need to get over my fear!