Description
These Christmas Meringue Cookies are light, airy, and infused with a refreshing peppermint flavor. Perfectly crisp on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth soft inside, they are decorated with festive red and green coloring, making them an ideal treat to brighten your holiday celebrations. Low in fat and gluten free, these cookies offer a sweet crunch without heaviness, baked low and slow to achieve the perfect texture.
Ingredients
Scale
Meringue Base
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup caster sugar
- ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
Decoration
- Red gel food coloring
- Green gel food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare Egg Whites: Beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy, approximately 30 seconds, ensuring a light and airy starting texture.
- Add Stabilizers: Incorporate the white vinegar and cornstarch into the foamy egg whites and beat for about one minute until soft peaks begin to form, which helps stabilize the meringue.
- Mix in Sugar and Flavor: Slowly add the caster sugar in a steady stream while continuing to beat. Then add the peppermint extract. Continue beating for about 4 minutes until stiff peaks form, creating a glossy and firm meringue.
- Prepare Piping Bags: Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, draw lines inside the bag with red gel food coloring. Fill this bag halfway with the meringue mixture. Repeat the process with a second bag and green gel food coloring for the remaining meringue.
- Pipe Cookies: Pipe one-inch star-shaped cookies onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets in red and green colors, creating festive shapes.
- Bake: Place the baking sheets in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 80 minutes to slowly dry out the cookies rather than brown them.
- Cool and Dry: Turn off the oven and leave the cookies inside for an additional 4 hours or overnight to finish drying and firming up perfectly.
- Store: Once completely cooled, store the meringue cookies in an airtight container to maintain their crisp texture for up to one week.
Notes
- Do not add sugar too early; wait until the egg whites are foamy to maintain fluffiness.
- Be careful when separating egg yolks and whites, as any yolk can prevent stiff peaks from forming.
- Check your oven temperature to avoid overheating, which could prevent proper drying of the cookies.
- Meringue cookies are best enjoyed within a few hours of baking for optimal texture.
- If caster sugar is unavailable, pulse granulated sugar in a food processor to a finer consistency; do not substitute powdered sugar.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 20 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: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
