Christmas Meringue Cookies Recipe

These Christmas meringue cookies are small piped kisses made from 4 egg whites, 1 cup of sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla or peppermint, tinted red and green if you like. One batch makes about 60. Expect 20 minutes of work, a 90 minute bake at 200°F, and an hour of cooling in the turned-off oven.

The trick is the sugar: one tablespoon at a time, each one dissolved before the next. Done right, they are crisp on the outside and dissolve on your tongue. I first made them for a last-minute cookie tray when I needed something to balance the buttery shortbread, and they were the first plate to empty.

Meringue Kisses in Numbers

• Ingredients: 4 large egg whites, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Oven: 200°F (93°C) for 90 minutes, then 1 hour in the turned-off oven with the door cracked
• Makes: about 60 kisses, 1 to 1.5 inches wide, on two lined baking sheets
• Keeps: up to 2 weeks in an airtight tin at room temperature
• Leftover: 4 yolks; cover them and use within 2 days for custard or curd

Room Temperature Whites and a Grease-Free Bowl

Separate the eggs while they are cold, because the yolks break less easily. Then let the whites sit out for about 30 minutes. Cold whites whip slowly and give less volume.

Fat is the enemy here. A trace of yolk, butter, or oil in the bowl and the whites will not reach stiff peaks. I wipe my bowl and whisk with a splash of vinegar on a paper towel and let them dry before I start. Glass or metal bowls are safer than plastic, which holds on to grease.

Adding the Sugar Slowly

Beat the whites on medium until foamy, add the cream of tartar, and keep going to soft peaks. Then, with the mixer running, add the granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time. It takes a few minutes. Turn the speed to high and beat for 6 to 8 minutes, until the meringue stands in a firm, glossy point.

Before you pipe, rub a little between two fingers. Smooth means the sugar is dissolved. Gritty means keep beating, because undissolved sugar leaks out in the oven as sticky beads. I have also tried caster sugar, and while it dissolves faster, the finished kisses were no better, so I stay with regular granulated.

Cream of Tartar or Lemon Juice?

Cream of tartar is an acid that steadies the foam, so the whites whip firmer and are less likely to collapse or turn grainy if you beat a little too long. Lemon juice or white vinegar does the same job; use about 1 teaspoon in place of the 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar. I have used both, and my notes from last December say the batch with tartar piped better and held sharper ridges.

Coloring and Flavoring the Kisses

Add the vanilla or peppermint extract and beat only until mixed. Use extract, not peppermint oil; oil is fat and knocks the air out of the whites. For color, use gel, never liquid, which thins the meringue. Divide the batch into bowls, add gel with a toothpick, and fold it in gently.

For striped kisses, paint two or three lines of red gel up the inside of the piping bag with a clean brush or toothpick, then fill it with white meringue. The first few kisses come out heavy on color; after that the stripes settle.

Christmas Meringue Shapes to Pipe

Every shape below uses the same star tip and the same batch, so you can make two or three on one tray.

• Striped kisses: the painted bag above. Hold it straight up, squeeze a 1 inch star, stop squeezing, and lift.
• Christmas trees: tint a bowl green. Pipe a wide swirl, then two smaller swirls on top, pulling up to a point. Add a pinch of sprinkles before baking.
• Wreaths: pipe a ring of small green stars about 2 inches across and dot it with red nonpareils.
• Candy cane twists: a red striped bag with peppermint extract in the meringue.
• Snow kisses: plain white, with a few sprinkles on top.

Sprinkles go on before baking; they will not stick afterward. Space the kisses close together, because they do not spread.

Low and Slow: Baking and Cooling

Bake at 200°F for 90 minutes and do not open the door. At this heat the meringue dries more than it bakes, which is what keeps it pale and crisp. Then turn the oven off, crack the door, and leave the kisses inside for 1 hour. Cooling them slowly is what stops the cracks; when I pull them out too fast, they split.

Done meringues lift off the parchment cleanly and feel dry and light. If the bottoms stick, give them another 10 to 15 minutes.

Why Meringues Turn Sticky, Brown, or Cracked

• Sticky or tacky after a day: humidity. Meringue pulls water from the air, so avoid baking on a rainy day. Dry them again at 200°F for 10 to 15 minutes, cool, and seal them right away.
• Beads of syrup on the surface: the sugar did not dissolve. Next time, add it slower and do the finger test.
• Beige or brown tops: the oven runs hot. Many ovens read 20 to 30 degrees off at low settings, so check with an oven thermometer.
• Chewy centers: underbaked, or the kisses were piped larger than 1.5 inches. Bake longer or pipe smaller.
• Cracked or hollow: they cooled too fast. Leave them in the oven for the full hour.

Keeping Them Crisp for Gifts and Cookie Trays

Once fully cool, move the kisses to an airtight container. I use a metal cookie tin lined with parchment and keep it at room temperature, never in the fridge, which makes them soft. They stay crisp for up to 2 weeks.

For gifts, layer them with parchment and pack them close so they do not rattle. On a tray they add height and color next to Christmas chocolate bark, peppermint swirl fudge, and Christmas butter cookies. A box with a few Christmas macarons makes a nice gift, and a handful beside slices of Yule log gives the plate some crunch.

I often make a half-and-half batch: peppermint for the striped ones and vanilla for the white. Crumble any broken kisses over whipped cream and berries for a quick dessert.

If you like meringue, my Christmas pavlova uses the same method in one big round, and the brown sugar maple meringue cookies are the fall version. Save this to your Christmas baking board, and tell me in the comments whether you went with peppermint or vanilla.