Christmas Tree Meringues
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A light and airy treat to balance out the more heavy desserts of the season, these Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies have a gentle crunch before literally dissolving on your tongue leaving a sweet, lightly vanilla flavor.
Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies Recipe
If you’ve never had homemade meringue cookies before, you are in for a sweet treat!
These delicate Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies have a lightly crispy shell that once bitten quickly gives way to a light and airy, marshmallow-y center that just melts in your mouth. The optional sprinkle decorations add a bit of festive color and crunch, while vanilla extract adds warmth to this sugary sweet.
It’s like a cross between a sugar cube and a very light marshmallow.
While they seem intricate and tricky to make, if you follow our step-by-step recipe below, you will have the most ethereally light homemade meringues you could ever imagine! Beautiful enough to gift, but no one will blame you if you keep them all to yourself.
Christmas Meringue Tree Recipe Variations:
- Peppermint Meringue Trees: Add ⅛ teaspoon peppermint extract and swirl a thin ribbon of red gel coloring through the piping bag for a subtle candy-cane effect.
- Matcha Vanilla Trees: Replace part of the green food coloring with ½ to 1 teaspoon culinary matcha. This adds an earthy note and a natural shade of green.
- Coconut Snow Trees: Skip the food coloring and rainbow sprinkles, instead dusting the piped meringue lightly with finely shredded unsweetened coconut for a snowy, monochrome look.
- Powdered Sugar Dusting: Add a gentle dusting of powdered sugar to give these Christmas trees a snowy effect.
- Chocolate Drizzle Trees: Once baked and fully cooled, drizzle the meringues with melted dark chocolate (or colored candy melts). The snap of the chocolate contrasts nicely with the airy cookie.
- Spiced Winter Trees: Incorporate a pinch of ground cinnamon or cardamom into the sugar before whipping for a subtle warm spice that doesn’t overwhelm the vanilla.
- Check out our Christmas Tree Meringue Pops for a cookie-on-a-stick variation
Meringue Cookies FAQs
How to store Meringues: these homemade meringue cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
My unusual tip to ensure that the meringues stay super crispy is to place a small bowl or container holding a few Tablespoons of uncooked rice in the container along with the meringues to absorb any moisture.
Can Meringues be Frozen? No, I do not recommend freezing the meringues or the meringue batter.
Meringue Cookies can also be customized in so many different ways:
- change out the vanilla extract for a different flavor extract
- make them swirled in different colors (see our Peppermint Meringues for an example as to how to do that)
- add sprinkles or edible glitter before baking
Pro Tips for the Best Meringue Baking Experience
I haven’t tried it myself, but I have read that if you add vinegar to your batter when you add the flavoring, the meringues will still set correctly, but have a softer chewier inside.
Ensure that your kitchen is not humid while making meringues – the moisture in the air negatively effects the meringues’ baking.
Use room temperature eggs – I leave them out the night before but ensure you leave them out for at least an hour before starting the recipe.
Ensure your bowl has absolutely no oil on it before starting to make this recipe, as the oil inhibits the eggs from whipping up – if you’re worried that it might have some trace amounts of oil, wipe the bowl with some white vinegar before starting
Use glass, metal or ceramic bowls to make meringues – not plastic.
Do not use those cartons of egg whites as a hack for this recipe because they contain stabilizers that will prevent the egg whites from whipping up into the glossy, stiff peaks necessary for the meringue
Ensure the sugar is fully dissolved in the meringue or else the meringues will sweat.
The quicker you get the meringue in the oven after mixing, the better. If you leave it too long the edges can harden or start to pucker.
Keep the oven door closed while baking. Sudden changes in heat or humidity can ruin the cookies and cause them to sink or crack.
Christmas Tree Meringues Ingredients
- Egg whites, room temperature
- Cream of tartar
- White sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Green food coloring
- Gold star sprinkles
- Rainbow non-pareils
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: Cream of tartar can be omitted but it does help the eggs whip up easier and adds stability/structure to the baked meringues. Meringue powder can be substituted, if desired.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Electric Mixer
- Large Bowl
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Piping Bag with Large Star Tip
How to Make Christmas Tree Meringues
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the egg white and cream of tartar on medium speed until bubbly and frothy-looking, about 4-5 minutes.
Slowly add in half of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Add in the remaining sugar, vanilla extract and green food coloring; beat for another 2 minutes.
Bump up the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form when the mixer is pulled away from the bowl – about another 2-4 minutes. Be careful not to overwhip as the mixture can deflate if over-worked.
Transfer the meringue mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Pipe a small mound of meringue on the parchment, working in a spiral upwards, rotating your wrist as you go and flicking away when you reach the top of the “tree” shape.
Repeat until all the meringue is piped, positioning each meringue at least 1″ away from each other.
Carefully place a gold star sprinkle at the tip of each meringue tree.
Sprinkle with a light dusting of rainbow non-pareils.
Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours. Do not open the door or cause drastic temperature fluctuations.
After the 2 hours of bake time, turn off the heat to the oven. Crack the door to the oven open slightly and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it open to prevent condensation and allow the meringues to cool appropriately.
Allow the meringues to set for an additional 1 hour or overnight before removing from the oven to serve or store.
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Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies
A light and airy treat to balance out the more heavy desserts of the season, these Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies have a gentle crunch before literally dissolving on your tongue leaving a sweet, lightly vanilla flavor.
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Green food coloring
- Gold star sprinkles
- Rainbow non-pareils
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the egg white and cream of tartar on medium speed until bubbly and frothy-looking, about 4-5 minutes.
- Slowly add in half of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add in the remaining sugar, vanilla extract and green food coloring; beat for another 2 minutes.
- Bump up the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form when the mixer is pulled away from the bowl - about another 2-4 minutes. Be careful not to overwhip as the mixture can deflate if over-worked.
- Transfer the meringue mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Pipe a small mound of meringue on the parchment, working in a spiral upwards, rotating your wrist as you go and flicking away when you reach the top of the "tree" shape.
- Repeat until all the meringue is piped, positioning each meringue at least 1" away from each other.
- Carefully place a gold star sprinkle at the tip of each meringue tree.
- Sprinkle with a light dusting of rainbow non-pareils.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours. Do not open the door or cause drastic temperature fluctuations.
- After the 2 hours of bake time, turn off the heat to the oven. Crack the door to the oven open slightly and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it open to prevent condensation and allow the meringues to cool appropriately.
- Allow the meringues to set for an additional 1 hour or overnight before removing from the oven to serve or store.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 36Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 8mgCarbohydrates: 7gSugar: 7gProtein: 1g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I hope your family and friends love this easy meringue Christmas tree cookie recipe as much as mine did!
For more scrumptious cookies, check out our full cookie recipe collection here:
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How could the texture or Pips NYT stability of these Christmas Tree Meringues be improved or adapted if I live in a very humid climate where meringues often become sticky or collapse?