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Santa Hats, Stars
Dots, Swirls and Little Pines
Karri Perry of Blue Ribbon Favorites
Ingredients:
4 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
***
Food color gel-red, pink, green
¼ cup Wilton white candy melts
1 teaspoon white-small nonpareils-other sprinkles will work too
Toothpicks
Directions:
Preheat oven to 200°.
Whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, in a large heatproof bowl set over a medium saucepan of simmering water (bowl should not touch water) until egg whites are very liquid (mixture will be warm to the touch) and sugar is dissolved (rub between your fingers to check-should not be grainy), about 5 minutes.
Remove bowl from heat, add vanilla and beat with an electric mixer or stand mixer on medium then high until stiff, glossy peaks form (bowl will feel cool), about 5 minutes.
(I use my metal stand mixer bowl to heat egg whites with sugar and then transfer the bowl directly to the stand mixer.)
Line 2-3 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
For Santa Hats: reserve 1.5 cups of white meringue, color remaining meringue with red food gel.
For small meringue dots, wreaths, swirls and stars: divide meringue into 3 or 4 equal parts, coloring with desired food color gel. (Pink, Green, Red and White)
Fill a large piping bag with star tips. I used M1, E1, 852, 52,-any open or closed star tips are great choices. Open Star Tips: Piping Tips
Fill bag(s) with meringue-each a separate color. My favorite piping bags are linked here: Piping Bags
Space 1-2 inches apart.
Each meringue should be about 1-2 inches…in size, not too much bigger or they won’t dry out properly… it’s hard to dry out the meringues by baking in a low temp oven if they are too big or too tall….
Try to keep all the meringues on each baking sheet generally the same size.
This way, if you have a tray of mini meringues that are done after 1.5 hours you can easily remove them. Don’t mix sizes if you can help it… keep like-sized meringues on the same baking sheet.
For Santa Hats: see photo below.
Pipe a 1-inch circle in white meringue, then pipe a red cone shape to create the body of the hat. (cone shape should be somewhat pointy at the top).
Add a small dot of white meringue to the top (point) of each hat.
Optional: To embellish hats-after they are cooked and cooled-add a small amount of melted white chocolate to the trim and pom and add white nonpareils or sprinkles.
For Dots and Stars: pipe 1-inch stars and dots in each color-keeping spacing to 1 inch. Add a light sprinkling of white nonpareils before baking if desired.
For Small Pine Tree: Pipe a star, add another star on top of first, then add a third star, smaller than the last… like stacked stars. It will resemble a little tree. See photos.
For Wreath: Pipe an open circle. Add sprinkles or red hot candy pieces. See photos.
Bake meringues for 1.5 - 2 hours or until dry to the touch –but not browned (meringue will be soft when it first comes out of the oven but will dry and crisp as it cools).
If time allows. Turn off the oven at the end of baking and allow the meringues to cool inside the oven, with the heat off.
Once cool-peel meringues off the parchment-they come off very easily. (Storage info below)
To Make Ahead: Store meringues in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Refrigeration and humidity will ruin the meringues-keep them air-tight and at room temperature. If adding to a chilled dessert as a topper, add just before serving. Can be added to room temperature cakes and cupcakes the day of serving.
