Crunchy, colorful, and low-calorie, these easy peppermint-swirl Christmas Meringue Cookies look cute and taste scrumptious!
First they’re crunchy, then they’re soft, then – POOF! – they’re gone! This 5-ingredient recipe for Christmas Meringue Cookies features fluffy egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar, salt & peppermint extract for a flavorful treat that literally melts in your mouth! Gel food coloring gives them a festive swirl of holiday color!
Move Over Sugar Cookies!
Don’t get me wrong – we love decorative, iced sugar cookies for the holidays! Stars, Santas, snowflakes, candy canes, etc. But they’re time-consuming and loaded with calories. Not so for Christmas Meringue Cookies! Around 20 calories each and naturally gluten-free, these light and airy bites of yumminess are guilt-free and easy to make!
Other Dessert Recipes that Won’t Derail Your Diet!
- Fun to eat and fun to make, Double Lemon Meringue Cookies are fabulous!
- Fudgesicles are creamy, chocolatey, and low in calories!
Ingredients
Eggs: Room temperature egg whites are the foundation for these fun, fluffy goodies!
Leavening: Cream of tartar replaces other agents (like baking soda or yeast) to make these cookies light and airy.
Sweetness: Granulated sugar combines with the egg whites for the perfect sweetness!
Flavor: We’re using Peppermint Extract for the holidays, minty goodness!
Color: Since we’re making these for Christmas, red and green GEL food coloring gives these cookies the perfect festive touch!
How to Make Christmas Meringue Cookies
STEP ONE: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. With a stand mixer (or electric hand mixer) beat together egg whites, cream of tartar, peppermint extract and salt on medium speed until it turns white and soft peaks start to form. Keep the mixer going and gradually add in a tablespoon of sugar at a time until all the sugar is used and the mixture is shiny and firm. Set aside.
STEP TWO: Using a toothpick or popsicle stick, add three thick stripes of gel food coloring (in either red or green) into a piping bag. Carefully add the meringue mixture to the bag. Squeeze out 1-inch dollops of meringue onto the parchment paper.
STEP THREE: Bake for 50 minutes (low and slow!), then turn off the oven and let the cookies sit – without opening the oven door – for at least 4 hours up to overnight. This allows them to dry out, giving them that perfect crispy crunch!
Tips for Success
- You need GEL food coloring to get the swirls. Liquid food coloring will result in muted, solid-color cookies.
- Be careful separating the egg yolks from the egg whites – even a drop of yolk in the whites will keep them from whipping up fluffy.
- These “forgotten cookies” are easy to customize – add different flavors and colors: Lemon yellow, vanilla blue, chocolate pink, or orange orange!
- Follow the baking instructions exactly – these cookies can be finicky, but cooking low and long is the key to success!
What Are Meringue Cookies?
Meringue Cookies (sometimes called “Forgotten Cookies”) are airy, bite-sized cookies with a crunchy outside and a marshmallow-like inside. They’re made from the same ingredients as a meringue on a pie – mostly egg whites and sugar. These beautiful little bites are pretty on a plate, tasty on your tongue, and can be made in a variety of flavors and colors.
Why Aren’t My Meringue Cookies Light & Fluffy?
Meringue cookies are easy – really – but they can be finicky. If your cookies turn out sticky or heavy, more like marshmallows or divinity, it could be: 1) You got a little egg yolk in the egg whites; 2) the humidity in your kitchen is too high; or 3) they didn’t bake long enough.
But don’t worry – there’s a fix! Return the cookies to a 200 degrees F oven for 4-6 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave the cookies inside to dry out until they have completely cooled (2-4 hours). This should fix the problem!
Other Creative Christmas Cookie Recipes!
- Christmas Wreath Cookies
- Linzer Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Red & Green Pinwheel Cookies
- Gingerbread Spritz Cookies
- Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites at room temperature (about ½ cup)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract or vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (75 grams)
- Red gel food coloring
- Green gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 225 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, peppermint extract, and salt on medium speed unilt soft peaks form.
- With the mixer still running, add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff shiny peaks form. Set aside.
- Place a large star tip into a piping bag. Use a popsicle stick (or squeeze directly from the gel bottle) and make 3 thick stripes up the sides of the bag, evenly spaced, being sure to put stripes in the piping tip as well.
- Carefully spoon the meringue into the bag. Pipe 1-inch meringues onto the prepared baking sheet. (The first few will have really dark stripes. They'll lighten up as you go.)
- Bake for 50 minutes. Then turn off the oven and leave the cookies inside for 4 hours (or overnight) without opening the door.
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