The season isn’t complete without melt in your mouth meringues. For Day 7 of our 12 Days of Cookies, we’re making the meltiest, sweet, and holiday filled meringues. The classic meringue is dipped in chocolate and then coated in peppermint crunch chips. They may sound intimidating at first, but with all our extra tips, they’ll be the perfect addition to any holiday cookie box or dessert tray this year!

What are meringues?

Meringues are different than any other cookies, they are made of only egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and any extra flavoring you might add. No flour, rising agent, anything! That’s another bonus about these is they’re perfect for your gluten free peeps.

You fill your sweet tooth while still getting a few holiday bites. They are crisp, sugary, and if you ask me, perfect to swirl into coffee or hot cocoa. 😏

Ingredients You Need

• Egg whites – You beat the whites until they are nice and fluffy. This is the base for your meringues.
• Cream of tartar – It seems like an unimportant ingredients, but this little powder helps the egg whites to become light, fluffy, and hold their shape.
• Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips – I love Andes anytime of the year, but when they come out with their peppermint baking chips, I must buy a few bags! They are a great addition to any baking item for the holidays. They add that nice little peppermint addition to the meringues without having too much crunch.
• Sugar – The sugar will be slowly added to the meringue while whisking. This helps make it shiny, glossy, and adds some sweetness to the meringue.
• Chocolate Chips – After the meringues have baked and chilled, they get dipped into shiny, melty chocolate. Then, dipped in the peppermint chips.
• Peppermint Extract – Since these are peppermint meringues after all, adding a little bit of extra peppermint flavor helps this little bites to feel like a holiday celebration in your mouth.

How to make the peppermint crunch meringues:

Meringue can seem a little scary at first but when you follow the directions and keep things in mind, they will be perfect little meringues.

1. Preheat the oven to 225 F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Start by whipping the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl on medium speed. You can use a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat until soft peaks form. 1-2 minutes. It will be very foamy and hold its shape slightly. You can use normal beaters, but it might take longer and I suggest increasing the speed.
3. Next, gradually add in the sugar. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. This is when you can pull out the beater and the tip of the meringue will stay up without falling. It is so so important that you don’t add the sugar all at once or too much at once. If you do, the meringue could not set up and turn into soup. I scooped 1 spoonful in at a time.
4. Next, fold in the peppermint extract and food coloring. Gently fold it in with a spatula. Why do we use a spatula? We use a spatula because as soon as the meringue is done we don’t want to overbeat the meringue. If we overbeat it, the egg whites could deflate.
5. Add the meringue to a large piping bag fitted with a Wilton tip. I used Wilton tip 4B or 32.
6. Squeeze the meringue onto the pan. Apply pressure for about 3 seconds, then release and pull away. Continue this for all your meringue. You can pipe them next to each other because they will not spread. If you don’t have a piping tip, you can use a normal piping bag or a spoon to dollop it on the pan.
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Once baked, turn the oven off and let the meringues sit in the oven for 2-3 hours while it cools. This will help the inside to become crunchy and crisp rather than soft and hollow.
8. Once the meringues are done sitting, dip the bottoms in some melted chocolate and then dip in peppermint baking chip pieces. Let the chocolate harden. Enjoy!

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How to make the perfect meringue

Here are some of the best things to keep in mind when making your meringue to ensure it’s perfect!

• Make sure your egg whites are foamy from the beginning. In the first step of beating your egg whites, if they are not foamy enough, this can actually affect you badly in the long run.
• Don’t add all the sugar at once! If you dump too much sugar in at once or just all at once, all the work you’ve done with the egg whites so far is down the toilet. You’ll have to completely start over.
• Make sure you have stiff peaks! – In the last step of beating your egg whites, make sure you get still peaks. You want the meringue to stick up without falling back in the bowl. If you’re meringue isn’t stiff enough, it’ll lose shape when piping and not bake correctly.
• Don’t get egg yolk in with your whites! If you end up getting some yolk in with your whites, you’re going to have to pitch it because the yolks will affect how the whites beat up. It will prevent them from becoming foamy and stiff in the long run.

How to tell when the meringues are done

You spent all that work baking and now the meringues have to sit for what seems like forever in the oven, but trust me, it’s all worth it in the end for the melty peppermint bites.

Unfortunately meringues aren’t like other cookies where you can poke or press them to test if they’re done. The meringues are very delicate and best if not touched after baking. You don’t want them to get too dark in the oven or under baked.

When the meringues are done baking, they will be crisp on the outside, but the color will still be the same. Once the meringues have sat in the oven for a few hours, they will become full crisp, even on the inside. You can gently peel one up and tap it. If it sounds crisp and hollow, it’s done.

Of course, there’s always the taste test option 😉. If you bite one and the inside is sugary, chewy, and kind of sticks to your teeth, it needs more time to sit in the oven. If you bite it and it’s crisp, light, and melts in your mouth, it’s done.

Meringue Troubleshooting

• My meringue is soupy and not stiff! – A few things could have gone wrong here. You either added too much sugar at once, didn’t get the egg whites very foamy from the beginning, or had egg yolk in your egg whites. All these things can contribute to your egg whites not being stiff enough. However, they could just be under whipped. It typically takes 5+ minutes for the meringue to get stiff peaks.
• My meringues are not crisp after baking! – You need to let the meringues sit longer in the oven, even if it’s barely warm. Surprisingly this helps the meringues to harden and get that signature crispness.
• The meringues melted after I dipped them in chocolate! – Your chocolate might have been too hot when you dipped the meringues. Make sure it’s pourable, but not hot.
• My meringues broke while trying to dip them in the chocolate! – When you pipe the meringues they typically get a little point on top. I gently held onto this while dipping into the chocolate. You could also use a toothpick to poke the meringues and then dip if you’re ok with a little hole.

How to store your meringues

Once all your meringues are finished and you’re ready to store here’s what to do.

Store them in a Tupperware or bag in a cool, dry place. Prevent placing them in the fridge or a warmer spot because this can affect the inside of the meringue. The moisture from a fridge or freezer could cause them to deflate or become chewy.

The meringues can be enjoyed for up to 6 days.

For more holiday recipes, view my:

• Chocolate Kiss Drops
• Eggnog Cake
• Chocolate Marshmallow Cookie Cutouts
• Orange Citrus Sugar Cookies

Did you make this recipe? Let us know below or on Instagram @tuesday.treats or use #tuesdaytreats2016