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Adorable Christmas Meringue Cookies for the holidays! My kids and I love spending time in the kitchen together. We’ve tried so many new recipes lately but today we are sharing one of our favorites with you. When I say meringue cookies, my kids jump! This recipe for vanilla Christmas Meringue Cookies is so easy and so tasty (they practically melt in your mouth). They are perfect to bake on Christmas morning or for holiday parties. But, if you’re anything like us, we just make them for fun!
Christmas Meringue Cookies
Christmas Tree Meringues are fun and easy to make. With a light, crunchy texture and topped with sprinkles, they are a festive addition to a holiday cookie plate. Because they require only three ingredients and bake low and slow, these are great for newbie bakers. No advanced piping skills are needed for these. Once you start, you’ll easily get in a groove and find a Christmas tree shape that works. And don’t worry if you don’t have a piping bag/tip. It works just as well to use a zip-top plastic bag with one corner snipped off.
These festive cookies are one of the easiest you’ll ever make and always make a beautiful presentation on your table! If you love meringue cookies, you will definitely want to try this festive version! These super cute Christmas Tree Cookies are perfect for your holiday party!
HOW FUN, right? You don’t have to be a professional to make adorable sweet treats. Just some simple ingredients, and some simple directions, and you’re good to go! Christmas Tree Cookies, fun and festive meringue cookies that are light as air and melt in your mouth!
How Do You Know When Meringues Are Done?
They are done when you can easily lift them off the parchment and the bottoms are dry. They should not be brown. Make sure to cook them at a low temperature for a long time.
More Christmas Recipes by Smart School House:
-
Graham Cracker Christmas Crunch
-
Christmas Tree Brownies
-
Snowball Cookies
-
Christmas Trees Made with Pretzels
-
Grinch Skewers
-
Santa’s Snack Mix
-
Strawberry Santas
Christmas Meringue Cookies
Christmas Meringue Cookies
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Foil
- Non-stick spray
- Mixing bowl
- Electric Mixer
Ingredients
- 4 Egg Whites
- ½ teaspoons Cream of Tartar
- 1 cup plain white sugar
- 1 tablespoon Butter Vanilla Emulsion flavoring. I use THIS kind (optional)
- Christmas colored sprinkles
- Golden tree topper sprinkles (like THESE)
- Green food coloring
- Icing bag (or zip top bag)
- Star-shaped frosting tip (found in the frosting section at your grocery store)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225° degrees F.
- Prepare a baking sheet, covered in foil, and sprayed lightly with non-stick spray.
- Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites for a few minutes on high speed until they are frothy.
- Add the sugar to the frothy egg mixture in small amounts.
- Continue to mix on high for 1 minute.
- Add in the cream of tartar.
- Add butter vanilla emulsion and green food coloring until desired shade is reached.
- Continue to whip the mixture on high for 4-5 minutes until stiff peaks form (meaning that the meringue holds a form when the mixer is turned off).
- Using an icing bag with a star shaped frosting tip, press the meringue mixture down onto the foil and gently swirl in a circular motion (like making soft serve ice cream).
- Add Christmas colored sprinkles and a golden sprinkle on top.
- Bake for 45 minutes or just before they begin to turn brown along the edges.
- Let them cool completely (or eat them when they are a tiny bit warm!).
- Store in an air tight container.
I will definitely find some butter vanilla emulsion for my baking bag of tricks. Until then do you think a 50/50 mixture of butter extract/vanilla extract will produce similar results? Just curious since the emulsion would have both flavors?
The meringue trees are very festive!
I found clear vanilla and butter flavoring at good ol’ Walmart a long time ago. Try the wedding aisle with all the Wilton products. They carry food coloring paste which I think would be waaaaay better for this since it won’t add any moisture. Going to try these next!! Spritz cookies are in the oven now!!
I made these today and the second batch turned out perfect! The first batch I left baking for 45 minutes and they sort of collapsed after a while and were more like “taffy”. The second batch I had to cook for MUCH longer (1.5 hrs) before they finally browned a bit. When they cooled though, they were PERFECTION! My advice is to REALLY be sure they’ve started to brown before you remove them from the oven.
I cannot find butter vanilla anywhere near me. I’ve always used vanilla paste or vanilla extract. would that work?
Yup!
This looks perfect for the holidays! They look so cute and festive. Adding a hint of mint flavor looks like a great idea for this recipe – I can almost smell and taste it! 🙂
For the life of me, I can’t get my batter to form stiff peaks- I must have used my electric mixer for 20 minutes. Suggestions?
Maren, that is so strange!! Did you mix the egg whites on high for a long time until they were bubbly? That’s an important part. Darn, I wish I was there to help you!
I am wondering if I should have beat them for a longer time before I added the sugar- I’ll keep trying! I just love yours.
I hope that is the hold up! Put your mixer on high and mix the egg whites for a lot longer than you did the first time. They will get really frothy and bubbly. Good luck and I hope that works!
I’m wondering if using a whip attachment makes a difference? I really don’t know. Just a guess due to the need for whipping the egg whites…..
Just to clarify, do you use granulated sugar? I’ve seen a meringue recipe that calls for powdered sugar so I’m a bit confused!
Yup! You’ve got it right, Anna. Just plain old granulated white sugar:)
These cookies are so cute, but I was wondering how many cookies this recipe makes.
It’s hard to say exactly how many this recipe will call for because it all depends on the size you make. However, I think it is safe to say that you can get at least 20 Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies with this recipe:)
Thanks!
Can you use just plain vanilla extract? I don’t know where to get the emulsion vanilla unless its at Giant. & I want to make them this Wed. Thanks
Sure!
Hello and thank you for your pretty Christmas recipe. I have already put the Christmas tree photo and the link to the recipe on my Facebook page. Do you authorize me or no to link your recipe ? If not I delete the photo and the link in my Facebook page. Sorry for English mistakes !!! Tx.
can you make them and freeze them?
I definitely want to make them for a party but would need to make them ahead of time.
Thank you
Kim
I actually don’t think they will freeze and thaw correctly. But, they will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container (like position them sitting up in large Zip Lock bags).
How fun and lovely to boot! Two questions for you. Can these be made days ahead and how do you store them to keep them fresh?
Yes, they will last a few days and simply need to be stored in an air tight container (like a simple ZipLock bag).
Can these be made ahead several days to a week? What is the best way to store them?
Hi Can you use Homemade Vanilla Extract instead ?
Cheers
Sure! It won’t have the exact same taste as the butter vanilla, but the meringue cookies will still taste great!
How do these keep? Do they have to be kept very dry. I thought humidity in the air was possibly an issue. Would that be a concern?
I’m not exactly sure how different humidity levels will impact the meringue cookies, but I do know that you’ll need to store them in an air tight container and eat them within a few days:)
I have a question, I have never made meringue cookies before and the directions say to cook them until the edges start to turn brown, I am looking at your cookies and they don’t look brown at all, am I missing something??
It’s hard to see in these photos, but they are slightly brown on different sides (and underneath). So, you’ve got it right! Watch them carefully in the oven and take them out just before they show too much brown. Try one out to make sure they’re cooked and you’re good to go!
Could you add mint?
I think that sounds like a neat twist on the recipe!
I can’t find the butter flavoring… Any suggestions for a Christmas substitute?
Can butter flavoring and vanilla flavoring both be used since locally we don’t have a kind like what you used? Thanks!
Sure! It won’t have the exact same taste as the butter vanilla, but the meringue cookies will still taste great!
If we don’t have the Butter Vanilla Emulsion, do we just substitute regular Vanilla extract or omit it altogether? These look fantastic!
Sure! It won’t have the exact same taste as the butter vanilla, but the meringue cookies will still taste great!
Butter flavoring wasn’t mentioned in directions. Should I add it with the food coloring?
Oops! So sorry. Yes, that is correct. Thanks for letting me know! I’ll fix the directions right now:)
I so want to make these, thank you for sharing!! But what is this butter flavouring thing? is this liquid flavouring of some sort? we dont have this handy here in France so I am looking for a substitute…
The link to the butter flavoring is found up in the directions:) Hopefully you’re able to get it in France! It’s very, very tasty!
These are very good, light and airy. The colors are great for the holidays.An extremely good tasting cookie.