Description
Delightfully light and festive Meringue Wreath Cookies made with whipped egg whites, powdered sugar, and vibrant red and green food coloring, perfect for holiday celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Meringue Base
- 3 large egg whites
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1⅓ cup powdered sugar
Coloring and Decoration
- Red gel food coloring
- Green gel food coloring
- Christmas sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Heat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to prepare for baking.
- Beat Egg Whites: Using a stand or hand mixer with a dry, large mixing bowl, beat together the egg whites and lemon juice on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.
- Add Powdered Sugar: Slowly add the powdered sugar, about ⅓ cup at a time, beating continually until stiff peaks hold and the sugar is dissolved, resulting in a glossy meringue; this may take up to 10 minutes.
- Color Red Portion: Separate ½ cup of the meringue mixture into a small bowl and gently fold in the red gel food coloring until uniformly colored.
- Color Green Portion: Gently fold green gel food coloring into the remaining large bowl mixture until the desired green hue is achieved, avoiding overmixing to maintain volume.
- Pipe Wreath Shapes: Place the green meringue in a piping bag fitted with Wilton tip #199 and pipe medium-sized flowers in a circular wreath shape onto one baking sheet. Use a Wilton tip #4 and a piping bag to create little holly berries between each flower. Optionally sprinkle with Christmas sprinkles before baking.
- Bake Meringues: Bake the cookies for 40 minutes or until dry to the touch. Bake in batches to avoid moisture buildup in the oven, which can prevent proper drying. You can pipe the next batch while the current one bakes.
- Cool Completely: Remove the meringue wreath cookies from the oven and let them cool fully on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes before serving or storing.
Notes
- Store meringue cookies in a dry, airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. They do not freeze well.
- Add sprinkles before baking to ensure they adhere properly and do not burn in the oven.
- Recommended piping tips for wreath bases are Wilton 1M, Wilton #199, or Ateco 846/848/849; use Wilton tips #3, 4, or 5 for the holly berries and bows.
- If short on time, use the overnight baking method to dry meringues on a low heat for several hours instead of the standard baking time.
- Start with cold egg whites and separate them carefully to avoid yolk contamination, which can prevent whipping properly.
- Allow egg whites to come to room temperature before whipping to achieve maximum volume.
- Beat egg whites on medium to medium-high speed and add sugar gradually once soft peaks form to create glossy stiff peaks.
- Fold in food coloring gently to avoid deflating the meringue; overmixing knocks out air and reduces volume.
- Bake until meringues are completely dry with a matte finish. They should sound hollow when tapped gently.
- Watch closely near the end to prevent burning; a slight golden tint indicates doneness.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 30 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
