These Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Cookies remind me of a cookie my mom used to make at Christmas time. They are dry and crackly on the outside, while still being moist and chewy on the inside! I like the mini chocolate chips studded throughout the cookie, plus the peppermint just screams, “It’s Christmas time!”
Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Cookies are a delicious holiday treat. Not only are they gluten free, but they’re also higher in protein and lower in fat than most cookies. They’re indulgent, but almost guilt free too!
Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Cookies are tasty holiday treats
These cookies take a little effort, but aren’t very hard to make. You’ll need to separate some eggs. They are easiest to separate when they are cold, but whip best when they are room temperature. You don’t want any egg yolk in your egg whites or they won’t whip up properly. So, I separate my eggs one at time into a small bowl and then transfer them into the mixing bowl of my Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
To make these cookies a little more festive for the holidays, I painted my piping bag with stripes of red food coloring in order to add a pretty design to the cookies. If you’re not comfortable using a piping bag, you can always spoon the meringue onto the baking sheet. Just be careful not to deflate your meringue.
When my mom made these, I remember her using mint chocolate chips. I wanted to use mini-chocolate chips (so they wouldn’t get stuck coming out of the piping bag). I added just a touch of peppermint extract to achieve the same flavor. If you’re not a fan of peppermint, you can leave it out. These are still yummy with just chocolate chips.
Meringue Cookies can be soft and chewy or crunchy on the inside
I baked these meringues at 225F for 30 minutes and removed them from the oven. They were dry on the outside, and I was able to easily pick them up off of the parchment lined baking sheets. The inside was moist and chewy. If you like a crunchy meringue, you can bake these cookies a bit longer, or turn off the oven and leave them inside to dry out some more.
Whether you like a soft and chewy meringue or a crunchy meringue, I’m sure you’ll enjoy these cookies. They are a tasty holiday classic!
Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Cookies
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minutesThese Chocolate Peppermint Meringue Cookies are dry and crackly on the outside, while still being moist and chewy on the inside!
Ingredients
3 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
red food coloring, preferably gel
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 225°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt together in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar in a slow, but steady stream. Continue to whip until the mixture is glossy and forms stiff peaks.
- Use a silicon spatula to very gently fold in the mini chocolate chips and peppermint extract by hand being careful not to deflate the meringue mixture.
- Fold the top of a pastry bag fitted with a round tip over and down a few inches. Dip a paintbrush in the red food coloring. Starting inside the pastry tip, brush a stroke of food coloring from the tip to the top of the bag. Repeat with 3 more evenly spaced strokes. Fill the bag with the meringue mixture. Pipe
1 1/2 inch diameter mounds of meringue spaced about
1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. - Bake for about 30 minutes, or until meringues are no longer glossy and can gently be lifted from the parchment paper. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet on a cooling rack for 20 minutes before removing from the parchment paper. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- When beating egg whites always make sure the mixing bowl and beaters are clean and free of any grease.
