Description
Delight in these light and airy Christmas Meringue Cookies, flavored with peppermint and artistically decorated with festive gel food coloring. Perfectly crisp and melt-in-your-mouth sweet, these cookies make a charming holiday treat or gift.
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
- Beat Egg Whites: Beat egg whites on high speed until foamy, approximately 30 seconds, to build initial structure.
- Add Vinegar and Cornstarch: Incorporate the white vinegar and cornstarch and continue beating until soft peaks form, about 1 minute.
- Slowly Add Sugar: Gradually add caster sugar in a steady stream while beating, then blend in peppermint extract. Beat vigorously for about 4 minutes until stiff peaks form for the perfect meringue texture.
- Prepare Pastry Bags: Using a star tip, pipe lines of red gel food coloring inside one pastry bag and lines of green gel food coloring inside another to create festive patterns on the cookies.
- Pipe Cookies: Fill each pastry bag with half of the meringue mixture and pipe approximately one-inch star-shaped cookies onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake Meringues: Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 80 minutes to dry out the cookies gently without browning.
- Drying Phase: After baking, turn off the oven and leave the cookies inside for 4 hours or overnight to ensure they dry thoroughly and develop the perfect crisp texture.
- Storage: Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to one week. For optimal taste and texture, consume within a few hours after baking.
Notes
- Do not add sugar too early; wait until egg whites are foamy to ensure the meringue forms stiff peaks.
- Be careful separating egg whites from yolks as any yolk contamination can prevent proper meringue formation.
- Monitor oven temperature carefully; higher temperatures can spoil the light texture by cooking rather than drying.
- Meringue cookies are best eaten soon after baking to enjoy their delicate crispness.
- If caster sugar is unavailable, pulse granulated sugar in a food processor until finer, but do not substitute powdered sugar.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 15 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: 0.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
