Description
Delightfully light and airy peppermint meringues, perfect for holiday cookie trays. These crisp, subtly sweet treats are infused with refreshing peppermint flavor and decorated with festive red stripes, making them both visually appealing and deliciously simple to prepare.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Peppermint Meringues
- 3 large egg whites
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 drop peppermint concentrate (or ½ tsp pure peppermint extract)
- Red gel-paste food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent the meringues from sticking and set a pastry bag fitted with a small open-star tip aside for piping.
- Dissolve Sugar in Egg Whites: In a heatproof bowl suitable for an electric mixer, combine the egg whites and sugar. Place this bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir gently for 2 to 3 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture feels warm to the touch.
- Whisk to Stiff Peaks: Transfer the bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, which means the mixture will stand up firmly when the whisk is lifted.
- Add Peppermint Flavor: Gently fold in the peppermint concentrate or extract to infuse the meringue with a refreshing mint flavor.
- Prepare Pastry Bag with Coloring: Using a clean small paintbrush, paint 2 or 3 stripes of red gel food coloring inside the pastry bag. This will add festive red stripes to the piped meringues.
- Pipe Meringues onto Sheets: Fill the pastry bag with 1 to 2 cups of the meringue mixture. Pipe small star shapes about ¾ inch high onto the prepared baking sheets. Refill the bag as needed, repainting the stripes with food coloring each time to maintain the decorative effect.
- Bake the Meringues: Bake the cookies for about 1 hour and 40 minutes, until they are crisp but not browned, ensuring a delicate texture.
- Cool in Oven: After baking, turn the oven off and leave the meringues inside for an additional 30 minutes to cool gently and avoid cracks from temperature shock.
- Final Cooling and Storage: Remove from the oven and let the meringues cool completely on the baking sheets placed on wire racks. Once cooled, store them in a sealed container to keep them crisp.
Notes
- Light and airy peppermint meringues are the perfect addition to any holiday cookie tray!
- They’re surprisingly easy to make and always a hit.
- Ensure the sugar is fully dissolved in the egg whites before whisking to avoid grainy meringues.
- Use gel-paste food coloring for vibrant stripes without altering the meringue’s texture.
- Pipe small stars to ensure even baking and delicate texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 cookies
- Calories: 21 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 6 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
