Easy, delicate, and light, these Peppermint Meringue Cookies are the perfect low-carb, low-calorie, fat-free addition to your Christmas cookie platter.

Easy christmas peppermint meringue cookies in a bowl

If there was ever a cookie that could make just about everyone happy, it’s these easy Christmas Peppermint Meringues. Their light, airy texture and bright mint flavor are a wonderful contrast to other rich holiday goodies. Plus, they’re flourless and gluten-free, and if you use the low-carb option, even those on keto can enjoy them.

Tips to Make Christmas Peppermint Meringue Cookies

I’m not going to write a long post about every time I’ve eaten one of these airy cookies that melt in your mouth or my first memory of eating peppermint. However, I want to share a few tips for those not familiar with making meringue. If you’re a pro at whipping egg whites and baking meringues, feel free to scroll down to the recipe.

Hand-Whisking Will Not Work

Whipping egg whites for meringues is very difficult to do by hand. You’ll want a stand-mixer or, at the very least, an electric beater with a whisk attachment. Here is the stand mixer I use. If I’m not making other cookies, I cut down on dishes by using this hand-held electric beater. But trying to do it by hand will wear you out, and it’s just not worth it.

Degrease Your Equipment

Grease keeps egg whites from reaching stiff peak consistency. So, before you begin, dampen a paper towel or clean cloth with a bit of white vinegar. Wipe the mixing bowl and beater attachment to eliminate every trace of grease, then let them air dry.

Be Careful Separating Eggs

Since egg yolks contain fat, even a drop will have the same effect as grease and keep your beaten egg whites from reaching stiff peaks.

The easiest way to separate yolks from egg whites is by cracking the egg carefully in the middle and tilting the contents from one shell half to the other, letting the white dribble into the bowl. You can also crack an egg into your clean hand and let the white slip through your fingers, catching the yolk in your palm. Or buy a carton of pasteurized egg whites to use.

Use Room-Temperature Egg Whites

As my Easy Christmas Peppermint Meringue Cookies recipe indicates, you need to use room-temperature egg whites, so let them sit on a counter for 30 minutes before you start. If you’re in a hurry, you can pour the egg whites into a small bowl and set that into a larger bowl of lukewarm (not hot) water for 5 minutes.

Know What Stiff Peaks Look Like

What soft peak egg whites and stiff peak egg whites look like — Examples of beaten egg whites (left), soft peak egg whites (Center) and stiff peak egg whites (right)

When you’re making a meringue, the egg whites must reach the stiff-peak stage, or they will collapse in the oven. As you’re beating the egg whites, they’ll go from runny and clear to clear and foamy in about 2 minutes. At that point, they’ll dribble off the whisk if you lift it from the mixture. Continue beating for another 5 minutes and you’ll reach the soft peak stage, where the peaks collapse on themselves when you lift the whisk. Another few minutes of beating will take you to the stiff peak stage, where the mixture remains standing when you pull out the whisk.

Prep Time:15

Cook Time:1 30

Resting time in oven:1

Total Time:2 45

Equipment

Stand Mixer or electric beater
2 Baking sheets
Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
Icing bag with star tip (optional)

Ingredients

4 egg whites, room temperature or 1/2 cup pasteurized egg whites from a carton
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup white sugar To use stevia, Splenda, monkfruit, or erythritol, reduce to 1/2 cup or your results may be overly sweet and grainy
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 tablespoons crushed candy canes for garnish
white vinegar to wipe mixing equipment

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 225°F/107°C. Arrange two baking racks in the center of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Degrease your mixer and bowl. (See notes.)
Whisk the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue to whisk until soft peaks form.
Increase the speed to medium-high and add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until you reach the stiff peak stage.
Add peppermint extract and beat for 2 more seconds.
To make the cookies, plop even spoonfuls onto the baking sheet 1 inch apart. Or, gently scoop the meringue into a frosting bag fitted with a star tip and pipe them onto the sheet. Sprinkle with crushed candies if using. (See notes.)
Bake both sheets at the same time for 90 minutes then turn the oven off. Do NOT open the oven door. Let the meringue cookies stay in the oven for at least one hour, up to overnight, until completely cooled.

Notes

Nutrition Information: The nutrition information above relects the original recipe, including white sugar. If you use an alternative, zero-calorie and zero-carb sweetener, each cookie will contain 4 calories, 1 gram carb, and 1 gram protein.

Degrease your equipment before you start: Wipe the stand mixer’s bowl and whisk with a towel lightly dampened in white vinegar to ensure they’re completely grease-free. Let them air dry.

Important note on alternative sweeteners: To keep baked recipes low-carb, low-calorie, keto-friendly, or suitable for those with diabetes, you can use alternative sweeteners like stevia, Splenda, monk fruit, Swerve, or erythritol. When doing so, reduce the amount of sweetener by half, using no more than 1/2 cup, or your result may be overly sweet and have a grainy consistency.

Store in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks. To freeze, place sheets of parchment paper between layers of cookies. Remove from the container to defrost and transfer them to a rack, making sure they don’t touch, so they don’t get soggy.

Nutrition

Servings: cookies

Calories: 20kcal

Author: Katie Berry

Variations to Try

Don’t like peppermint? You can make these Christmas Meringue Cookies with other extracts, too. Try vanilla extract, lemon, almond, or even rootbeer! Swap sprinkles or colored sugar for the crushed candy canes if you’d rather.

Want to make colorful meringues? To make colorful Easy Peppermint Meringue Cookies, stir in 1/4 teaspoon of liquid food coloring when you add the extract. You can swap sprinkles or colored sugar for the crushed candy canes if you’d rather, or leave them bare.

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2 Comments

Sarah says:

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Well written recipe! I came here for advice after running into trouble with another recipe. When/how do you use the crushed candies? After the merengues are dry, I don’t think the crushed mints will stick.

1. Katie Berry says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Sarah,
  Thank you for catching that. I moved it from discussion in the blog post to include it in the recipe instead. Enjoy!