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Looking for a healthier holiday cookie? At about 15 calories each, these peppermint meringues are light, festive, and tasty.
If you’re looking for a healthy cookie recipe this holiday season, these peppermint meringues have a leg up since the main ingredient has zero calories: air! They’re made simply of egg whites and sugar whipped with air until they become a fluffy cloud of goodness. And at about 15 calories a pop, they’re one of the lightest cookie recipes we’ve made.
Each holiday season, Alex and I develop a few sweets that are on the lighter side but are just as delicious as their heavier counterparts. It can be difficult to strike a balance with sugar in the holiday season, so our coping mechanisms are simple: focus on homemade recipes with real ingredients, and eat in moderation when possible.
While these peppermint meringues seem light and carefree, they do take a bit of concentration to pull off. It took us a failed batch to realize the importance painting neat lines into the bottom of a pastry bag (paint them up too far and half of the batch is white; paint them too messy and the red isn’t dark enough). If you’re up for the challenge, make sure you have a paintbrush, pastry bag, and some red gel food coloring. With a steady hand, they’re a fun holiday challenge.
What are your favorite healthy-ish holiday treats? We’d love to hear in the comments! A few of our “lighter” takes are below.
Looking for more healthy cookie recipes?
- Bliss Bites (Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies)
- Chewy Gluten-Free Skillet Almond Flour Cookie
- Soft Gingerbread Cookies
- Chai Spiced Snowball Cookies
- Ginger Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
- The Best Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle
- Cherry Quinoa Chocolate Bark
- Narwhal Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
- Healthy Peanut Butter Buckeye Balls
- Gingersnap Sandwich Cookies
- Cranberry Pistachio Chocolate Clusters
- Easy Peppermint Bark
Did you make this recipe?
We’d love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment below or share a picture on Instagram and mention @acouplecooks.
This recipe is…
This peppermint meringues recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.
Peppermint Meringues
Looking for a healthier holiday cookie? At about 15 calories each, these peppermint meringues are light, festive, and tasty.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
- Yield: About 45 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Swiss
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Red gel food coloring
- Pastry bag and small art paintbrush
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F.
- Fill a saucepan with water and heat to a low simmer, but not boiling. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Lower the bowl into the simmering water and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Place the bowl under the mixer, then whisk on high for 8 to 10 minutes until stiff peaks form. Once there are stiff peaks, turn off the mixer and add peppermint extract. Whisk on low for about 30 seconds to fully incorporate.
- Meanwhile, fit a large circle tip on a plastic pastry bag and neatly fold down the top 6 inches of the bag to form a sturdy cone. For stability, place the bag tip-down in a pitcher. Squeeze some red gel food coloring on a plate and carefully paint a ½ inch wide stripe from the tip to where the bag is folded. Repeat with 3 more lines, evenly spaced. Be careful not to smudge the lines.
- After the stripes are painted, carefully add spoonfuls of meringue into the center of the pastry bag. Pipe small swirly cones, about 1 ½ inches wide onto two parchment lined baking sheets. Each one will be a little unique, so enjoy the process!
- Bake for 1 hour, then turn off the oven, let out a bit of the warm air, then leave in the oven for another 90 minutes for the insides to dry. Store in a covered container for several days.
Notes
Inspired by Girl Versus Dough
I don’t understand why you say to paint food coloring on a plate.
We just use the plate as a palette so that we can get a good amount on the brush.
These were delightful and so easy to make. They turned out perfectly! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh, so glad these turned out for you! They’re a little tricky so I’m glad they were a success. Thanks for sharing!
These are ADORABLE + they look delicious! Happy Holidays! :)
These made me smile ?
These meringues are gorgeous. I don’t know if I’d be patient enough to paint a pastry bag, but I would definitely love to make (and eat) these.
Wow these meringues are gorgeous!! I love how they have red and white swirls :)
Oh, such lovely little things and I bet they’d make the best gift for anyone!
I made your chai spiced snowball cookies last year and LOVED them. I will have to try these as well, if for nothing else how beautiful they are.