by: Kate McMillan
Cook Time
2 hours
Prep Time
10 minutes
Yield
40 cookies
Total Time
2 hours
Prep Time
10 minutes
Yield
40 cookies
summary
This peppermint meringues recipe makes the perfect addition to any holiday cookie box. The two-bite meringue kisses are sweet and light and wonderfully seasonal when laced with peppermint extract. To get those festive red swirls, you will need red food coloring and a small paint brush with a fine tip. It’s as simple as can be and the results are so lovely.
ingredients
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Big pinch of kosher salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Red food coloring
directions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets.
- Add the egg whites, cream of tartar and the salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on medium until it is frothy, about 45 seconds. Raise the speed to high and add the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, until all of the sugar is incorporated. Add the extract and continue to whisk on high until you have stiff peaks, about 4 more minutes.
- Fit a pastry bag with a ¾-inch star-shaped tip. Using a small clean paint brush, draw 6 vertical red lines with the food coloring on the inside of the pastry bag. Fill the bag with the meringue and pipe out the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet, using about 1½ tablespoons of meringue for each. Repaint the food coloring lines and add more meringue, as needed.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for one hour. Turn off the oven and let the cookies sit, without opening the door, for another hour.
notes
The hands-on prep time for this is short, but you need to plan for the hour the cookies bake at a low temperature followed by an additional hour to sit in the (turned-off) oven. They need time to dry out.
The baking temperature needs to be low so the cookies remain white and red rather than golden brown.
The second and third time you draw red lines and add meringue will produce much redder cookies than the first batch as the lines begin to blur. If you want a soft and subtle swirl throughout, you may want to consider using 2–3 disposable pastry bags in order to not repeat use. If using a fabric bag, do not rinse out between batches as it will retain too much moisture.
Meringues are best eaten within a day or two, as any moisture will cause them to lose their crispness.
Peppermint extract is very strong so a little goes a long way.
To know if you have firm peaks, remove the whisk attachment and hold upside down; the meringue should hold up on its own and not droop.
To make meringue, make sure the bowl is very clean and perfectly dry.
The egg whites must be at room temperature: They will whip up faster and have a greater volume than cold eggs.
