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Swirly, twirly, and striped, these red-and-white peppermint meringue cookies are all dressed up for the holiday party. A festive spin on my recipe for classic vanilla bean meringues, these crisp, light-as-a-cloud confections are flavored with both vanilla and peppermint extracts. They get a candy-cane-inspired look by painting the inside of the pastry bag with thin stripes of red food coloring (I like liqua-gel food coloring, such as Super Red from Chefmaster). When it comes to the food coloring, less is more: Very thin strokes—about the width of a toothpick—will create the desired red-and-white balance.
If you’ve been intimidated by meringues in the past, this recipe is full of handy tips to help you succeed. My number one piece of advice? Have patience. These confections take some time to bake (about 2 hours), plus another hour or so to dry out. You’ll know they’re done when you can lift one off the baking sheet and it feels light; tap the underside and it should sound hollow. Leaving the cookies in the turned-off oven allows them to cool down slowly and gradually and minimize the odds of your meringues cracking. Trust me—they’re worth the wait.
Since these meringues will last for up to 10 days, they’re a fantastic addition to holiday cookie boxes. As the meringues sit, their exterior might turn sticky. If this happens, simply pop them back into a 225° oven for 10–15 minutes to re-crisp. Use the same strategy to revive days-old meringues.
Add a batch of chocolate meringues; or check out our easiest cookie recipes here →
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Star Piping Tip (Ateco Number 848)
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 225°. Place 5 large egg whites, room temperature, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Sprinkle ¼ tsp. cream of tartar and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt over and let sit 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, sift ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar and ¾ cup (83 g) powdered sugar into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
Beat egg white mixture on medium speed until foamy, 30–60 seconds. With motor running, add sugar mixture 1 Tbsp. at a time, incorporating completely before adding more and scraping down sides of bowl as needed between additions, 6–8 minutes total. Increase speed to high and beat meringue until glossy stiff peaks form (it should look billowy), about 2 minutes. (Stiff peaks are important here as the meringue will deflate slightly when piped; the cream of tartar will prevent overbeating). Reduce speed to medium, add ½ tsp. vanilla extract and ¼ tsp. peppermint extract, and beat until just incorporated.
Place pastry bag fitted with tip into a tall glass or vase and fold top of bag over rim of glass to hold it in place. Using brush, paint 4 thin stripes of food coloring up the inside of bag, spacing evenly apart. Fill bag with meringue, then bring sides together and twist to close. Dab a little meringue in each corner of a baking sheet and line with parchment paper; lightly press meringue dabs to adhere parchment to baking sheet. Holding pastry bag vertically about 1" above baking sheet, working in an upward motion and twisting at the base to create a swirled shape, pipe meringue to make a 2"-wide star. Repeat to fill baking sheet, spacing meringues about 1” apart. Repeat process with another pastry bag and baking sheet.
Bake meringues until crisp on the outside and shiny (but not sticky or tacky), 2 hours to 2 hours and 45 minutes. To check if they are ready, lift a meringue off the baking sheet: it should be light, lift off the baking sheet cleanly, and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. If meringues are not done after 2 hours, keep baking, checking every 20 minutes.
Turn off oven and leave door slightly ajar (prop open with a wooden spoon if needed). Let meringues cool in oven at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Do ahead: Meringues can be baked 10 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. If meringues soften, re-crisp in a 225° oven 10–15 minutes.
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