christmas tree meringues - Grits in the City

Every year, we decorate gingerbread houses with the family. Each year, our choice of gingerbread houses evolve to those that are even more pre-made (such a wise move) and I’ve begun to use this as an opportunity try a new holiday treat. This year I chose these Christmas tree meringues from Make Bake Celebrate.

The upside of these is that they don’t take too many ingredients. The main thing you may not have is cream of tartar. The downside is they take a long time (bake slow and long) and the piping process, if you aren’t already a piping pro. I want to get better at piping before baby girl’s upcoming first birthday which is another reason I chose to give this recipe a try.

The version below is slightly altered as I learned my oven has a minimum temp. I did some googling and apparently this was done to try to help present salmonella, which I get, but also found annoying! Thankfully the recipe worked just fine.

The recipe did not mention, but you should add any sprinkles before you bake. I was worried it would cause the trees to fall, but I guess the lesson is have more faith in the strength of that meringue! I added mine after baking and the exterior was too crispy to add to much. I made the star at the top happen, but that was about all that was in the cards.

Ingredients

4 egg whites
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Food coloring
Parchment paper
Piping bag
Round tip

Place your eggs out and allow them to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Separate 4 eggs with just the egg whites in a bowl. Beat them until they look foamy and white.

Then add the cream of tartar and salt until the mixture thickens up to peaks. You’ll know!

Then slowly add in the sugar in little bits over the course of around 7 minutes. Take your time so this takes the full window of time.

Scoop the mixture in small batches into your piping bag. I found this part messy and challenging as you’ll encounter some unexpected bubbles here and there. Make sure you have your parchment paper down first. Then decorate as you desire with sprinkles.