Peppermint Dream Meringue Cookies

This recipe offers a delightful way to use up leftover candy canes. Bright with seasonal flavor, Peppermint Meringue Cookies are a good choice when you want a bite of something festively sweet but not too heavy. As an added bonus, these gems are not only light and fresh but they are also gluten free.

Repurposing Candy Canes

It is late December. Though we are only in the middle of the Christmas season a long trail of broken and discarded candy canes have made their way into my kitchen. Candy Canes seem to have become more of a token to hand out in the classroom or a decoration to tie on a package than a seasonal treat that anyone actually eats. Or maybe that’s just my family. Instead of being consumed they collect in a sad pile on my kitchen counter. I suppose I should just throw them away but I hate to be wasteful.

That’s why I saved the recipe for White Christmas Dream Drops. I found it in the December issue of Sunset magazine. I was drawn to the bright peppermint flecks on top of those snowy white mounds of meringue. Not only are the cookies pretty, this recipe is practical. This year I am determined to recycled at least a few of those misfit candy canes laying in the kitchen. Baking a batch of these deliciously seasonal meringue cookies seems like a great place to start.

Reading more about these Peppermint Meringues, I have to smile! The recipe looks much like the one for my mother’s Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies. Hers is a recipe that my family has loved as long as I can remember. This technique makes a relatively soft-centered meringue. The cookies are crisp on the outside but deliciously chewy, and often hollow, inside. Overall the effect is a bit surprising.

Just Like My Mother’s Sweet Meringues

In all my years of collecting recipes, I have seldom found one that is so similar to my mother’s. It is heartwarming to see it again, like an old friend coming into view. That sweet old recipe looks as if it has fared well. The core of the recipe (the first five ingredients) remain exactly the same. But here it comes dressed for the season, substituting bits of crushed peppermint candy for the nuts, white chips for the chocolate, and adding a few minutes in the oven to set the meringue with a little added crunch.

These delightful cookies are gluten free, easy to make, low in fat and require only a few ingredients. They are a great way to use up leftover candy canes and are a good choice for celebrations late in the Christmas season and beyond, when you want a bite of something sweet but without the weight of butter-rich cakes and cookies. Instead, Peppermint Meringue Cookies offer a light and fresh way to enjoy the lingering flavors of the season.

Baking Tips for Meringue Cookies

If you are new to baking meringue cookies you may find the batter a bit challenging to work with. Here are a few tips I have used to arrange the cookies on a baking sheet:

• Meringue cookies won’t spread while baking. They still need a little room to breath but leaving only about 1″ between cookies will work fine.

• I drop meringue cookies onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets using two spoons. I use one spoon to scoop up the desired amount of batter. Then I use the back of the other spoon to push it onto the parchment paper.

• Another good method is to use a gallon-sized Ziploc bag to form the cookies. To try this, simply scoop the meringue batter into the Ziploc bag and seal it. Then cut a 1-inch opening across a lower corner of the bag. Now use it like a pastry bag to pipe meringue onto the parchment paper in Tablespoon-sized dollops. This method is quick and allows for greater control over the shape of the cookies.

• This meringue batter could also be piped into heart shaped cookies like these Valentine Meringue Cookies. To do this I would suggest chopping the white chips before adding them to the meringue. You will also need to be sure the candy canes are finely crushed. All of the added bits will need to be smaller than the opening snipped in the lower corner of the bag to keep it from clogging.

Why Not Add a Little Chocolate?

Crushed candy canes bring a bright and festive tone to Peppermint Meringue Cookies. For another layer of contrast and flavor you might want to dress them up with a little bit of dark chocolate:

• Peppermint Meringues are extra pretty when dipped in chocolate. To do this melt 3 ounces of dark chocolate (or about 1/2 cups of chocolate chips) in a double boiler or microwave. Dip the lower half of each cooled cookie in the melted chocolate allowing the excess to drip back into the pan. Then place the dipped cookie on a parchment-lined cookie sheet to set. When full, place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for a few minutes until the chocolate is firm.

• Or, you may prefer to drizzle the cookies with chocolate. If so, place the melted chocolate in a small Ziploc freezer bag. Seal the bag and snip 1/4 inch from one of the lower corners. Drizzle chocolate over each cookie. Place cookies in the refrigerator briefly, until the chocolate is firm.

 Serving Peppermint Meringue Cookies

Plain, or dipped in chocolate, Peppermint Dream Meringue Cookies are colorful and inviting. They make an attractive addition to Christmas Cookie trays, providing an option that is light and also gluten-free. To complete an appealing assortment of holiday cookies, you might like to accompany these meringues with Chocolate Crinkles and spicy bite-sized Peppernuts (Pfefferneusse).

Peppermint laced meringues are also a great complement to a cup of Hot Chocolate. Try them with Spiced Hot Chocolate, flavored with vanilla and almond, for a frothy wintertime favorite. Or serve these cookies with a cup of creamy thick Spanish Hot Chocolate for an appealing dessert option.

Enjoy!