Nothing tastes more like Christmas than chocolate and peppermint. So it made sense to combine them for some chocolate chip peppermint meringue cookies!
I love meringue cookies because they are just so pretty. And they make a great edible gift. The cookies are light and airy, and with some red and white swirls are evocative of candy canes and all things Christmassy. Plus these contain a chocolate treat inside.
Ingredients:
4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Red food coloring
Pastry Bag
Directions:
Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a mixing bowl beat the eat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and peppermint extract until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until firm peaks form, about 2 minutes longer. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
Swirl some red food coloring through the meringue but do not stir.
Fill pastry bag with meringue and pipe meringue cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
Bake for 60-90 minutes, until meringues are dry, but do not let them brown.
Let cool on baking sheets. Meringues will be crunchy. Store in an airtight container.
Baking on the low temperature for a longer time really helps with the color for these cookies. Also, because you are using a pastry bag to pipe your cookies onto the baking sheet you can get a little creative! We made stars and candy canes in addition to the traditional meringue shape.
A couple meringue tips:
Make sure that your bowl and utensils are clean and dry
Parchment paper is your friend
Do not get any egg yolk into the egg white when you separate your eggs, the peaks won’t get stiff. (Trust me.)
Package them up pretty and share with friends. Or take them to a holiday cookie exchange! This recipe easily makes a few dozen cookies so there are more than enough to share.
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