delicious confections: mint melties


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.

36 comments to “delicious confections: mint melties”

  1. 1
    Anonymous   December 7, 2007 at 2:50 pm

    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!

  2. 2
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  3. 3
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  4. 4
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  5. 5
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  6. 6
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  7. 7
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  8. 8
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  9. 9
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  10. 10
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  11. 11
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  12. 12
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  13. 13
    C'tina   December 7, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Those are adorable, festive little morsels!! Love the sprinkles!

  14. 14
    Joanne   December 7, 2007 at 5:13 pm

    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 😀

  15. 15
    S   December 7, 2007 at 9:24 pm

    How many mini-loaves did your UBC cake make? I’m actually planning on doing something similar for my friends and family. Thanks!

    Shannon

  16. 16
    kickpleat   December 7, 2007 at 10:28 pm

    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!

  17. 17
    Cakespy   December 8, 2007 at 1:50 pm

    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!

  18. 18
    jenn   December 8, 2007 at 3:03 pm

    Have fun! If you near Waterloo, email me and maybe we can meet up for a tea/coffee!

  19. 19
    Judy   December 9, 2007 at 4:34 am

    Wow, those look so cute and Christmas-y. And limoncello……mmmmmm.

  20. 20
    C-n-C   December 9, 2007 at 8:11 am

    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?

  21. 21
    Anonymous   December 9, 2007 at 9:02 pm

    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.

  22. 22
    hag   December 9, 2007 at 5:22 pm

    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…

  23. 23
    Warda   December 10, 2007 at 11:49 am

    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.

  24. 24
    passionatenonchalance.com   December 10, 2007 at 7:02 pm

    mint melties, puuuuuur……

  25. 25
    Cookie baker Lynn   December 11, 2007 at 7:02 am

    Delicous! I hope you have a wonderful time in Ontario.

  26. 26
    eatme_delicious   December 11, 2007 at 7:56 am

    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?

  27. 27
    eatme_delicious   December 11, 2007 at 7:57 am

    Oh and I forgot to say YUM limoncello.

  28. 28
    furlinedteacup   December 13, 2007 at 10:31 am

    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.)

  29. 29
    Aimée   December 13, 2007 at 12:00 pm

    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!

  30. 30
    Heather   December 13, 2007 at 7:49 pm

    I made the bread tonight and it is delicious! Thanks for sharing Willie’s recipe.

  31. 31
    Canadian Woman in London   December 14, 2007 at 10:17 am

    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!

  32. 32
    kickpleat   December 17, 2007 at 12:17 pm

    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!

  33. 33
    Sara   December 17, 2007 at 11:02 pm

    Please post about the lemoncello! I’ve been thinking about making it for a while. Merry Christmas!

  34. 34
    Michelle   December 20, 2007 at 2:47 pm

    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!

  35. 35
    kickpleat   December 24, 2007 at 10:38 am

    sara, i’ll definitely post about the limoncello! stay tuned…

    michelle, glad you’ve been trying out my recipes! thanks for your kind words 🙂

  36. 36
    N + S   January 4, 2009 at 10:27 pm

    oh my gosh these look amazing. swoon.

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