I’m in the throes of Christmas baking and homemade gift making. We’re heading to Ontario first thing tomorrow morning to visit family and won’t be back until a week before the holidays really kick in. I’m making/baking most of my presents this year because who doesn’t love receiving homemade treats? Tiny, mini loves of UBC cake have been baked, my totally addictive crack-like snack mix has been bottled up, an uber-fancy version of my standard granola has been packed into glass jars and I’ve got some potent limoncello waiting to be bottled and corked.
I did mix in some new players in the holiday baking mix this year. After seeing this delicious post on the 64 sq ft kitchen blog, I had to make those snowy white meringue cookies. I’ve made meringue to top key lime and lemon pies and I’ve also made a few showy pavlovas in my recent past, but I’ve never made a meringue cookie like this. Unfortunately, I don’t have a piping bag so mine didn’t have the kiss-like disposition, but despite their rustic outsides, their insides were delicious! I added a drop of peppermint extract to the egg whites and it flavoured these cookies beautifully. I also decided to dip the bottoms in white chocolate and Christmas sprinkles to make them more holiday-like.
I made these late at night and turned off the oven to let them sit overnight. In the morning, these white delicious blobs were still too gooey, so I turned the oven on low and checked on them every 15 mintues or so until they had the perfect consistency. You really want them crisp on the outside with a bit of gooey softness inside. Or if you like them dry, they will melt immedately on your tongue! Delicious confections, indeed.
meringue mint melties
3 egg whites, room temperature
dash of salt
3/4 c sugar
drop of peppermint extract
white chocolate buttons
holiday sprinkles1. Using a stand mixer with the whip attachment, pour the egg whites along with a dash or salt into the bowl. Whip on med-high speed and when the egg whites begin to double in volume, slowly add in the sugar. Keep beating mixture until it becomes glossy and the texture begins to feel like melted marshmallows. Add in a drop of peppermint and whip until you can make peaks in the egg white.
2. Flour and butter a cookie sheet (or 2) and drop or pipe small mounds of batter. Don’t worry, these cookies won’t spread. Bake them in a preheated 190 degree oven or preheat the oven to 375 degrees and then turn off the oven and let the cookies sit over night. If you do the latter, you may have to rebake them at low heat if they aren’t as dry as they should be. Store in an air-tight tin.
3. If you choose to dip these in chocolate, melt a small amount of white chocolate in the microwave. I pop open the microwave every 30 seconds or so to see if it’s melted. Dip the bottoms of each cookie in the white chocolate and then sprinkle with the decorations. Leave them chocolate side up to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, then pack up in an air-tight tin.
Print This Recipe
Merengue cookies (or “forgotten cookies” as we call them, since you leave them in the oven and forget about them overnight) are a staple of my family’s holiday baking regiment. We like to put some crushed up Andes mint bars in them to add a little extra minty-freshness, too!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!
Oh wow!! I’m speechless.
You’ve been busy J!
Those meringues are what Christmas is all about. So pretty and festive.
The kid in me is all giddy with a sugar high!
Last week I used your recipe file and made your cranberry chutney (for the holidays) and your walnut oat burgers. Those burgers were sooooo good!! They tasted like “chicken” LOL. My husband LOVED them too 😀
How many mini-loaves did your UBC cake make? I’m actually planning on doing something similar for my friends and family. Thanks!
Shannon
anon, mint candies? yum! sounds like a wonderful family tradition.
c’tina, thanks! they are very festive looking!
thanks, joanne! i’ve been so busy this week…but it’s all done for now! glad you loved the burgers…they’re wonderful!
shannon, my recipe made 3 mini loaves which is a wonderful way to stretch the recipe and your holiday budget!
Those cookies look perfect! These look melty and minty enough to make anyone smile.
Also, I must say: everyone on your list is VERY lucky this year!
Have fun! If you near Waterloo, email me and maybe we can meet up for a tea/coffee!
Wow, those look so cute and Christmas-y. And limoncello……mmmmmm.
I have a question about your fleur de sel caramels from last year. I am trying your recipe (after “almost” burning a batch of caramel sauce last week) and I’d like to know about the wax paper twists. Did they in fact twist? Any suggestions for individual wrapping?
I want to make those mini loaves
of the UBC cake…how long did you
have to bake them? And do they freeze well?
Your blog is one of the best…
very inspiring.
Yummy and way too cute to eat!
I hope you enjoy your time in Ontario.. I wish I had the time this year to make more of my gifts…
Next time, I’ll add some peppermint to my meringues. Sounds delicious and they look so cute. Hope you’re having a nice time with your family. Happy holidays.
mint melties, puuuuuur……
Delicous! I hope you have a wonderful time in Ontario.
Mmm I’ve been wanting to make a meringue cookie like that recently. I was thinking about making one with chocolate pieces though your version is now tempting me. Great idea to package up granola and that other snack mix for gifts. Where did you get those container/box/package things that you baked the loaves in?
Oh and I forgot to say YUM limoncello.
Your treats look lovely! I feel bad for slacking and not baking, again, this year. But we really need to me into a larger apartment so I can have a better kitchen workspace (the dining room is now the office, which means I have only our small galley kitchen to work in yuck.)
Ohh, these look GOOD! I’ve never had great luck with meringues, but so many pretty ones are turning up on blogs, that I just may have to try some!
I made the bread tonight and it is delicious! Thanks for sharing Willie’s recipe.
You’ve inspired me to get cracking and do more baking! I’m such a fan of your blog – but if you can, please write more about food around Vancouver cause I miss it!
thanks cakespy! homemade is best 🙂
jenn, we never made it to waterloo. i’ve always wanted to stop by st. jacobs…so who knows, one day i just might!
judy, the lemoncello….i can’t wait to try it out!
cnc, i just cut out squares of wax paper and then twisted the ends up myself. you could use cellophane squares too!
thanks, hag!
thanks, anon. i honestly can’t remember how long the mini-loaves took…maybe 1/2 hour? but they definitely freeze well! good luck!
rose, just imagine all the flavour possibilities! yum.
passionate….purr, indeed!
thanks, lynn. a good time was had by all 🙂
eatme delicious, i bought the loave pans at the daiso-like store in tinseltown! cute and cheap!!
furlined, my kitchen is also a teeny tiny galley kitchen. it’s more difficult but still manageable!
aimee, these are tasty and i think making them in the winter when the climate is drier makes them easier to bake.
glad you loved the banana bread, heather!
aw shucks, thanks moosie!
Please post about the lemoncello! I’ve been thinking about making it for a while. Merry Christmas!
Thank you so much for these recipes! I’ve had a lot of fun in the last couple weeks making that UBC bread in mini loaves, they’ve made such fun gifts! And I LOVE that snack mix, I’ve made a lot of that as well and it’s delicious! I love your blog, your photos of your food are fabulous…you make it all look so delicious and pretty!
sara, i’ll definitely post about the limoncello! stay tuned…
michelle, glad you’ve been trying out my recipes! thanks for your kind words 🙂
oh my gosh these look amazing. swoon.