Peppermint Meringue Cookies
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Celebrate the season with these Peppermint Meringue Cookies, a light, airy, and festive treat you’ll love. Easy and fun to make, these gluten-free cookies are perfect for the holidays or teatime!
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Whether you’re looking for a festive and easy holiday treat, a Christmas Afternoon Tea sweets offering, something to add to your cookie box, or an easy-to-make gluten-free lighter cookie, these meringues are the perfect answer!
Much like our Lemon Meringue Cookies, these festive sweet treats are easy to make with ingredients you may already have on hand like egg whites, sugar, cream of tarter (added to help retain their “kisses” shape), and peppermint extract.
The meringue ingredients are whisked into stiff peaks, added to a pastry bag, and piped onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. They are then baked in a low-temperature oven until they are dry on the outside and soft on the inside.
Peppermint Meringue Cookies Ingredients
Here’s what you need:
- Large egg whites at room temperature
- Cream of tartar
- Salt
- Granulated sugar or superfine sugar
- Peppermint extract
- Red gel food coloring (I’m using a tube of Betty Crocker red food coloring gel)
How to Make Peppermint Meringue Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 225℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using an electric beater with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and continue to beat until soft peaks form when you lift out the whisk. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
- Begin to gradually add the sugar, one spoonful at a time, letting it completely dissolve each time before adding more. Continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form. Slowly add the peppermint extract at low speed.
- Use a tube of food gel and squeeze lines of red inside a large piping bag fitted with a star tip. I like to use an odd number of lines; for these cookies, I used 5 lines of red. You can also use a small brush to paint the lines. Then, fill the bag with meringue and pipe small dollops on the prepared baking sheet like little kisses.
- Bake on the lowest shelf of the oven for about one hour or until the meringues easily peel from the paper, are no longer glossy, and feel dry to the touch. Cool in the oven for another hour. Serve immediately or store at room temperature.
Tips for Making Meringue Cookies
- Use Room-Temperature Egg Whites—Use room-temperature egg whites before whisking for a fluffy and delicious meringue.
- Use Superfine Sugar – This finer-grade sugar dissolves more quickly while whisking than granulated sugar. If you’re using granulated sugar, add it more slowly while whisking, and be sure it has dissolved completely.
- Whisk at Medium Speed—Resist whisking the egg whites at high speed. This results in less uniform air bubbles, making the meringue cookies too airy and hard to shape.
- Adding Sugar — Once the egg whites reach a soft peak, begin adding the sugar, one spoonful at a time, whisking until it completely dissolves before adding more. Adding sugar too quickly results in a softer meringue that also doesn’t hold its shape.
How Long Can You Store Meringues?
Make sure to cool your meringues completely before storing them for several weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer.
More Peppermint Dessert Recipes
- 10 Minute Peppermint No Bake Cheesecake
- Peppermint Mocha Chocolate Blossom Cookies
- Peppermint Mocha Brownie Cookies
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Peppermint Meringue Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar or superfine sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- red gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using an electric beater with the whisk attachment beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and continue to beat until soft peaks form when you lift out the whisk. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
- Begin to gradually add the sugar, one spoonful at a time, letting it completely dissolve each time before adding more. Continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form (when it holds its shape after lifting the whisk). Slowly add the peppermint extract at low speed.
- Use a tube of food gel and squeeze lines of red inside a large piping bag fitted with a star tip. I like to use an odd number of lines; for these cookies, I used 5 lines of red. You can also use a small brush to paint the lines. Then, fill the bag with meringue and pipe small dollops on the prepared baking sheet like little kisses.
- Bake on the lowest shelf of the oven for about 1 hour or until the meringues easily peel from the paper, are no longer glossy, and feel dry to the touch. Cool in the oven for another hour. Serve immediately or store at room temperature.
Notes
- Piping Bags: If you don’t have piping bags, use a ziptop bag with the corner snipped off. You can also use a spoon to drop mounds of meringue onto the baking sheet.
- Storing: Make sure to cool your meringues completely before storing them in an airtight container for several weeks. You can also store them in the refrigerator or freezer.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.