Description
Delicious meringue cookies decorated like Christmas trees, perfect for the holidays!
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 large egg whites (at room temperature, 200g in total)
- ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1¾ cups + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (400g in total)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or other flavor extract, optional)
- to taste green gel food coloring
- to taste holiday sprinkles
- to taste star sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F/93°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature egg whites and the cream of tartar. Beat with the whisk attachment on low speed until the mixture becomes foamy.
- Increase the speed to high, and add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing for about 15 seconds between each addition.
- Once all the sugar is added, continue beating until the egg whites reach the stiff peaks stage and are thick and shiny.
- To check if the meringue is ready, rub a small amount between your fingers to ensure it’s not gritty. If there is any grit, continue mixing until it’s gone.
- Lifting the whisk out of the bowl, check that the peaks are stiff and curl over on themselves.
- Add food coloring and vanilla extract, mixing until the color is evenly blended.
- Transfer the meringue to a large piping bag fitted with a medium or large piping tip.
- Pipe the meringue onto the parchment lined sheets, creating a triangular tree shape no larger than 3 inches tall.
- Add the sprinkles before baking, starting with stars at the top and adding colorful sprinkles as decorations.
- Bake the meringues for 1 hour at 200°F/93°C, then turn off the oven. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR at any point.
- Leave the meringues in the oven and allow it to cool down completely before removing the cookies, which can take between 1-3 hours. The cookies should be crisp and dry when finished.
Notes
- The cream of tartar helps stabilize the egg whites for better meringue.
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant meringue colors.
- Store meringues in an airtight container to keep them crisp.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 30
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 5mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 7g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg