These Christmas Tree Cookiesare going to be the talk of the holiday season.
This meringue recipe will easily dress up a cookie tray for your holiday sweet tooth cravings.
The best part of all, the meringues are so easy to make.
Pair these meringues with my red-nosed reindeer cupcakes or even these festive M&M cookies .
Both are fun and easy Christmas desserts.
Reasons You Will Love These Tree Meringues
- Light, crispy, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
- A stunning presentation value when served up for family and friends.
- Place in your cookie or dessert tins for gifting loved ones. Or serve at your holiday feasts.
- Minimal ingredients are needed for these tree meringues.
- Pretty easy to make! Plus you can double or even triple the recipe.
Ingredients Needed
Egg Whites– Make sure you use egg whites only and they are fully at room temperature. This is going to ensure you get the best bake on these meringues.
Cream of Tartar– The most important ingredient dare I say. You will use this for adding height to the meringue.
Sugar– A bit of sugar creates the perfect sweetness to the cookies. So when you bite in you get a nice hint of sweetness.
Vanilla– Vanilla is going to help add more flavor to the meringues. You could always change up the extract for a different flavoring. Peppermint, almond, or a fruit extract would work as well.
Food Coloring– Reach for green food coloring to add the perfect color to the meringue batter. Go as light or deep in color as you would prefer.
Sprinkles– I used festive sprinkles for the holidays as well as a gold star sprinkle for topping each tree.
Peppermint Meringue Cookies
It’s super easy to add peppermint extract or any other extract flavors you’d like to add to your meringue to change the flavor of the cookies.
Peppermint is always perfect for the holidays and would be great in these Christmas Tree cookies.
How to Make Meringue Cookies
Full steps on how to make these Christmas Tree Meringues are in the printable recipe card.
This is a quick walk-through on how it is made.
Step 1:Preheat the oven and prep your baking sheet.
Step 2:Then in a stand mixer, you will add the egg whites and cream of tartar, and whip up as directed.
Step 3:Add in part of the sugar mix for a bit, and then work in the rest of the sugar as directed.
Step 4:Work in the extract.
Step 5:Add food coloring in. Once fully mixed transfer to a piping bag.
Step 6:Pipe your Christmas tree-shaped meringue and top with sprinkles. Then bake as directed.
Allow to cool completely before serving.
You can add any flavor extract you would like. From vanilla like I did, peppermint, almond, or even a fruit extract. A few drops work at adding rich flavor if you use a fruit extract.
Meringue is one recipe that is best made when it is not humid. It can be done, but you will find that the end results can be a bit softer than it would be if you made them on a regular day.
Tips for Making Meringue
- Make sure that you don’t have any yolk in the egg whites or can cause the egg whites to not become as stiff, which will affect the texture of the meringue.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This is important to prevent the meringue from sticking.
- Bake your meringue low and slow. The low temperatures will dry out the meringue, and help create that crispy texture when you bite into it.
- Ensure the meringue trees cool completely before you go to store them. If you don’t allow them to cool fully, they can get soft. The condensation can build in the container and you will lose the crunch.
- Decorate the meringue as you would like with sprinkles and such. You could even dust the meringue with powdered sugar to mimic snow once cooled.
- Add as much or as little food coloring as you would like to the batter. I find that gel food coloring offers the best mix-in.
Storing
Ensure the tree meringues are fully cooled and then place them in a sealed container and store at room temperature for up to a week or so.
Avoid storing in the fridge as it will add moisture and cause the cookies to soften.
How to Freeze Meringue Cookies
You can freeze the cookies but just know they can lose some of the crunch factor when you bite into them.
Place in a single layer and freeze for 1-2 months.
Then thaw on the counter.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
If you like these yummy Christmas treats, you’ll love these ones too:
- Thin Mints Cookies – This is a copycat Girl Scout Thin Mints recipe.
- Peppermint Hot Cocoa Cookies – These cookies are the perfect treat to have on hand during the holiday season.
- Frosted Gingersnap Cookies – This old-fashioned Recipe for Gingersnap Cookies is a Christmas cookie classic.
- Melted Snowman Cookies – These cookies are SO simple to make and look great sitting on the dessert table!
- Gingerbread House Cookies – These are not quick and easy cookies to make, they require some extra effort and time, but the results are SO worth the wait!
- Ultimate Peanut Butter Cookies – This is a tried and true, soft and chewy peanut butter cookie.
- M&M’s Christmas Cookies – These classic M&M Cookies are a must-have during the holidays, and they are super easy to make.
- Classic Snowball Cookies – A melt-in-your-mouth delicious cookie studded with chopped walnuts and rolled in sweet powdered sugar.
Meringue Christmas Tree Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- ¼ t cream of tartar
- 1 c sugar
- 1 t vanilla
- Green food coloring
- Gold star sprinkles
- Rainbow non-pareils
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. Mix on medium speed until bubbly and frothy looking.
- Add in about half of the sugar and continue to whip on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Add in the remaining sugar and vanilla and mix on medium speed for another 2 minutes.
- Bump up the speed to high and whip to stiff peaks – about another 2 minutes. Do not overwhip as the mixture can deflate if over-worked.
- Transfer the meringue mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Pipe a small mound of meringue on the parchment, working in a spiral upwards. Repeat until all the meringue is piped.
- Carefully place a gold star at the tip of each meringue tree.
- Sprinkle with a light dusting of rainbow non-pareils.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours. Do not open the door or cause drastic temperature fluctuations.
- After the 2 hours of bake time, turn off the heat to the oven. Crack the door to the oven open slightly and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it open. Allow to set for an additional 1 hour or overnight.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated with ingredients and serving size and may not be accurate. Please always double check with your own nutritional apps as well.
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