Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies

Meringue Cookies are a breeze to make and these Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies will be a family favorite!

Have you tried macarons? You know…they are ALL the rage. I have and I’m left nonplussed. I thought maybe it was me, you know, a novice at the craft. The French cookie that requires seemingly perfect ingredients, perfect proportions and I’m sure, perfect altitude. I have and none measure up to these meringue favorites; Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies.

I tried, I really did but even if I mastered the first two, the last was never going to be. I live at 5,280 feet and if altitude comes to bear at all, well, I’m in trouble. My first attempt was to make some Chocolate Nutella Macarons and though I got the ‘feet’ that are so important to the perfect end result, my ‘magma’ flow of meringue was apparently not quite right and I ended up with a cute little twirl on top.

My second attempt, Boysenberry Buttercream Macarons had another whole set of issues and I decided this effort which is timely and expensive was just not for me. Enter Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies!

I decided I didn’t have to abandon meringue entirely because I’ve always loved plain and simple meringue cookies. The crunchy exterior belies the billowy soft  interior that literally seems to melt in your mouth. I haven’t made meringue cookies in several years and was inspired to do some again by, of all things, a chocolate chip cookie. That’s right!

I saw a friend do a post recently combining chocolate chips in toffee meringue cookies and was reminded of how much I love meringue cookies and maybe just as important…how successful they have always been for me; no stressing and no feet required! Even at a mile high, they’ve never been a problem.

Meringues cookies are so easy to make; it’s no different than the meringue you put on a pie. Making them green was just as easy and the star and the ‘ornaments’ came together quickly; they are simplesome melted white chocolate that I piped and in the case of the star, dusted with gold glitter.

The proof was, as they say, ‘in the pudding’ and they gave that great light taste I love with just a hint of white chocolate; just as elegant to eat as they look on the table. They are surprising addictive and a bonus is that if you have friends or family with gluten intolerance, theee is no flour in sight.

I have to admit I had some fun playing with the finished cookie. I have my own vintage set of holiday houses (well, 30+ years old at least) and I thought it would be fun to use one of my favorites as a prop.

I don’t get the set out every year but now that I did this I wanted more. If you stop by, take a peek; maybe you’ll find a hidden treat! I actually plan to add enough to the setting that my favorite kids can come by and discover a treat among the houses.

Honestly I might say I make these each year because they are so cute in my Christmas Village. And then the Christmas Tree Meringues start to disappear and truth be told I’m the biggest culprit. Oops!

PIN IT! ‘Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies’

Yield: 12-14 Cookies

Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies

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Adorable meringue cookies for the holidays.

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar (I just put regular sugar in my processor for a minute to get it finer
• Green food color (I used paste but liquid works fine too)
• 6 oz white chocolate chips
• Gold edible glitter for decoration (mine is from King Arthur)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks.
3. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat on medium-high speed until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the food coloring; the meringue might deflate a bit so just continue beating until the meringue holds stiff peaks again.
4. Pipe meringues in a tree shape using a large, serrated piping tip.
5. Bake the meringues for 2 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back about half way through to ensure even baking. They should not be brown but crisp on the outside. Cool completely.
6. Melt the white chocolate chips in a double boiler (I actually just put a bowl in a small saucepan). Fit a pastry bag or a ziploc baggie with a small, rounded edge piping cone and fill with melted white chocolate.
7. Pipe stars on silpat or parchment paper. Sprinkle with glitter and allow to cool. Peel the stars from the silpat once cool and attach to the trees with a dab of white chocolate.
8. Pipe dots of white chocolate directly onto tree in a random pattern.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

14

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 112Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 23mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 0gSugar: 18gProtein: 1g

The nutritional information is computer-generated and only an estimate.