Peppermint Meringues
These festive red and green-striped peppermint meringues are super simple to make and a fun treat for the holidays!
All you need is just 4 ingredients and only a few minutes of active work to make these peppermint meringues— your oven does the rest! They’re light and airy, with a crisp outer layer and a chewy center.
Just look how cute these bite-sized peppermint meringues are! They’re a lot of fun to make too. And they’d be perfect for an edible gift, on a cookie tray, or treat anytime this holiday season.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Egg whites
- Granulated sugar
- Peppermint extract
- Red and green gel food coloring
How to Make Peppermint Meringues
- Prepare piping bag. Use a paint brush to lightly brush red and green food coloring in stripes up the sides of a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
- Warm egg whites and sugar. Place egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and place over a pot of simmering water. Stir frequently until sugar is dissolved.
- Whip to stiff peaks. Beat egg white mixture with the wire whisk attachment at high speed until meringue holds a stiff peak, about 4-5 minutes.
- Fill piping bag. Use a spatula to scoop meringue into the piping bag.
- Pipe onto sheet pan. Pipe out meringue into a bowl until color starts to come through, then pipe starbursts onto a sheet pan lined with parchment.
- Bake. Bake at 175°F until meringues are crisp but not at all browned, about 2 hours.
- Store. Once cooled, store in an airtight container for about a week.
Tips for this Recipe
- Your mixer bowl and whisk attachment need to be clean and completely free of any grease or fat or your egg whites will not whip up properly.
- To properly separate your eggs, making sure no yolk (i.e. fat) contaminates your whites, see my tutorial here.
- Gel food coloring is required for this recipe, as liquid food coloring won’t stick to the sides of the piping bag.
- I prefer to use a stand mixer when whipping meringues, but a hand mixer would work too.
Can I Make this Recipe without a Piping Bag & Tip?
Yes! I love the looked of these piped meringues, and if you don’t have a piping bag, follow this tutorial for how to use a plastic ziplock bag instead. But if you prefer, you can skip the bag altogether. Instead, do your best to swirl the food coloring into the whipped whites and use a cookie scoop. What your meringues lack in presentation, they’ll more than make up with flavor.
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This recipe was originally published December 2010.
Peppermint Meringues
Ingredients
- 3 (105 grams) large egg whites
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- red and green gel-paste food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175°F and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Put the egg whites and sugar in the metal bowl of a stand mixer. Place over a pot of simmering water and stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm, about 3 minutes.
- Return the bowl to the stand mixer and beat on high with a whisk until the meringue reaches stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. Add the peppermint extract.
- Use a small paint brush to paint the inside of a pastry bag fit with a medium star tip with 3 stripes each of the red and green food coloring.
- Fill the pastry bag and pipe into 2 inch sized stars on the prepared sheet pans (Note, the first little bit of meringue to come out of the pastry bag will not have the stripes because it was inside the tip and not the bag. Pipe it out into a bowl until you see the stripes, then begin piping the stars).
- Bake for about 2 hours until meringues are crisp but not browned. They should peel off the parchment easily. Let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Video
Notes
NOTES
- Your mixer bowl and whisk attachment need to be clean and completely free of any grease or fat or your egg whites will not whip up properly.
- To properly separate your eggs, making sure no yolk (i.e. fat) contaminates your whites, see my tutorial here.
- Gel food coloring is required for this recipe, as liquid food coloring won't stick to the sides of the piping bag.
- I prefer to use a stand mixer when whipping meringues, but a hand mixer would work too.
Been beating my egg whites for 20minutes now and nothing.
You should add that the eggs need to be fresh, no yolks and to add something like Cream of Tartar, lemon juice, or vinegar in order for them to stiffen up.
I wasted eggs trying to make these without knowing this.
You shouldn’t have to add anything to you egg whites except sugar and flavoring. Plus, everyone knows no yolks, or your whites want fluff to form peaks.
You are the #1 sweets blogger in my book. You are my most trusted source for excellent recipes for when I get in the kitchen to bake. You are a gem!!! Thank you for sharing your fantastic recipes and gorgeous photos with all of us.
Leslie, you have completely made my day and week!! 🙂 I’m printing this comment out and hanging it on my wall as a reminder for tough days. Thank you so much for reading and baking along with me! xoxo
Me, spazzing out to my husband after reading your comment: “Oh my gosh, you will never guess what just happened. My favorite baking blogger wrote back to ME!! Look! LOOK!”
I didn't have red gel, so I used green. Close enough! Thanks for the recipe, they are DELICIOUS. 🙂
Annalise! You are so talented. I think it's such an accomplishment that you made it so far in the competition. I think you rocked it. And these look delish. I'd probably find a way to mess them up. Sigh.
These peppermint meringues are terrific, elegant, playful and yummy! Sorry you had to go through this disappointing experience but think of all the great achievers in this world who overcame hurdles and let-downs. Cheers!
These are so beautiful! Totally festive and perfect for Christmas!
Laura, absolutely! It would be lovely!
That is so neat! I've always wondered how they got those stripes in these kinds of baked goods or icing too! Do you think you could do this trick for buttercream for a cupcake?
I voted for you everytime and I congratulate you for all your winning entries and for making it as far as you did. You put yourself in a vulnerable position and came out knowing you have the gumption to get as far as you did. Keep the recipes coming. I thoroughly enjoy them.
congrats on being in the top 24. these are adorable!
This is such a lovely blog! I love your photos – colourful, simple & stylish. They make me want to run into the kitchen and start baking immediately.
You should be proud you made it so far…that is an amazing accomplishment!! These meringues are gorgeous…so perfect for the holidays!
Those are so cute! I've done something similar to this at the bakery I work at! People love this!
Oh my goodness, those little meringues look AWESOME! I love the stripes – I'm not at all careful enough to do anything like that, but I love them.
You did awesome in the competition, lovely. You should be proud of yourself! I'm proud of you =)
Jax x
these are adorable! I don't usually do a lot of holiday themed baking, but I might just make these for a christmas party!