I'm too lazy to go try to find my mom's recipe, so I found a similar one at Homecooking.about.com. This recipe is pretty much what we did. I've added my own comments for the parts that are different.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Drying Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes
Yield: 72 cookies
Ingredients:
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup superfine granulated sugar (We never used any particular type of sugar... just regular white sugar seems to work fine!)
- 1/2 tsp mint extract (use peppermint extract for stronger flavor)
- 1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips (We do not use mint extract at all. Instead, we use chocolate mint chips in place of semi-sweet chocolate. My aunt varies this slightly by using chopped up Andes mints.)
- 3 drops green food coloring (We would separate into two batches, and make one batch pink and one batch green for Christmas.)
Preparation:
Chill mixing bowl and beaters for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 250 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time until all sugar is incorporated and melted into the meringue. The meringue should be shiny and form stiff peaks.
Fold in mint or peppermint extract, chocolate chips, and optional food coloring.
Drop by scant teaspoonfuls (or use a pastry bag) onto prepared cookie sheets, placing cookies about 1 inch apart. (You want these bite-sized to pop the whole cookie into your mouth. Larger ones are fine but make a crumbly mess when you bite into them.)
Bake about 1 hour until stiff and dry. Turn off oven, but leave meringue cookies in the oven until cool to further dry out, another 2 hours.
Store in an airtight container.
Yield: about 5 dozen meringue cookies, depending on size
Preheat oven to 250 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time until all sugar is incorporated and melted into the meringue. The meringue should be shiny and form stiff peaks.
Fold in mint or peppermint extract, chocolate chips, and optional food coloring.
Drop by scant teaspoonfuls (or use a pastry bag) onto prepared cookie sheets, placing cookies about 1 inch apart. (You want these bite-sized to pop the whole cookie into your mouth. Larger ones are fine but make a crumbly mess when you bite into them.)
Bake about 1 hour until stiff and dry. Turn off oven, but leave meringue cookies in the oven until cool to further dry out, another 2 hours.
Store in an airtight container.
Yield: about 5 dozen meringue cookies, depending on size
Just reading about these is making my mouth water! I hope we make them this year! They are easy to make, but because of the fact that they only use egg whites and not the rest of the egg, some people may consider them kind of wasteful!
What is your favorite Christmas cookie?
I bake a lot of cookies, but I have never made meringue cookies. I may have to try them this year. My Mom made all kinds of Christmas goodies. My fav was her fruit drop cookies... they are the best and I make them every year.
ReplyDeleteMy mouth is now watering as well....I might try these! My favorite cookie is sugar with frosting on it...
ReplyDeleteHi Nicki, these are very close to cookies my mom made--they were called overnight cookies because you were supposed to leave them in the oven overnight. (I'm sure two hours would have been plenty.) They melted in your mouth--delicious! Thanks for commenting on my blog in Holidailies. I think it's wonderful you wrote your book for the little girl. I have a disability too, I use a w.c. from polio. Prayers and blessings and have a Merry Christmas!
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