Christmas Tree Meringues

Cute as a button Christmas Tree Meringues are made with only two basic ingredients. Colour them a pretty pink or festive green and decorate with your favourite sprinkles.

I first saw Christmas tree meringues being shared on Instagram last year and I couldn't wait to try making them. They certainly are some of the most instagrammable cookies I've ever baked and they taste delicious too.

Two-Ingredient Christmas Tree Meringues

There are a few different ways to make meringue cookies but I've kept this as simple as possible. The recipe uses only two main ingredients with added food colouring and of course - sprinkles!

I'll walk you through the steps of how to make the crisp on the outside chewy in the centre meringue we all love.

I'll also show you exactly how to pipe the Christmas tree meringues in two different ways. AND I'll tell you what I do with leftover meringue mixture so there's no waste.

Vertical or Flat?

I wanted to see whether vertical Christmas trees were easier to pipe than the flatter Christmas trees (the ones stuck on a straw). It turns out piping the flat trees straight onto baking paper was easiest. So now you know!

I actually feel like the Christmas tree meringues with straws look better so I'm pleased they turned out so easy to pipe.

You will love making these Christmas Tree Meringues because:

• The meringue is just two ingredients
• They can be made any colour you like
• Crisp shell, chewy centre
• Easy to pipe
• They make amazing gifts!

Leftover Meringue

With the leftover meringue, I also made some cute wreaths. They are so easy to pipe and look really effective. The addition of tiny edible flowers finished them off beautifully.

Christmas Cookie Gift Box

I came up with a variety of meringue cookies and biscuits because I wanted a good selection to include in my Christmas Cookie Gift Box.

As well as all the meringue I'm showing you here I also baked vanilla, chocolate and gingerbread biscuits all in one day!

Talk about a bumper baking session. It's all worth it though because what household doesn't love fresh baked goods and any surplus can be given as gifts. It's a win-win.

I always make a cookie box up for my daughter's school and give it to them at the start of December so that the staff room has lots of festive treats. This is a really inexpensive way of making gifts but the boxes are always so gratefully received.

What You Need To Make Festive Meringue Cookies

• Egg Whites: Use large free-range eggs or buy a carton of egg whites. The most important thing is to weigh the whites according to the recipe below. One large egg white weighs approximately 40 grams.
• Caster Sugar: You'll use double the amount of caster sugar to egg whites so make sure this is weighed too. Caster sugar is preferable because it dissolves quickly resulting in a glossy meringue that isn't grainy.
• Gel Food Colouring: Use any colour you want to but make sure it's gel because the meringue might fail if you use liquid colouring. You will only need a tiny amount of gel to colour the meringue.
• Sprinkles: To decorate!

Scaling The Recipe

If you want to make more or less meringue mixture the formula is easy to remember.

The ratio is 1:2 - always use double the amount of sugar to egg whites and follow the method below and you'll have foolproof meringue every single time.

How To Make Meringue Christmas Trees

I use The Meringue Girls' Method and it's never failed me yet.

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 180ºC Fan / 390ºF / Gas 6
2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and pour the caster sugar into the tray in an even layer. Put the tray in the oven for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites on a low speed until you see bubbles, then increase the speed to medium until the egg whites form stiff peaks. You can check the egg whites are ready by turning the bowl upside down - if they don't slide out, that's stiff peaks!
4. By now the sugar will be ready. Take the tray out of the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 100ºC / 80ºC Fan / 190ºF / Gas 3.
5. Add the hot sugar to the egg whites mixture a tablespoonful at a time beating on full speed. Take care not to add any burnt or crystallised sugar from the edges of the tray.
6. When all the sugar has been added continue to whisk for a further 5-7 minutes.
7. Test the meringue by rubbing it in-between your fingers, keep whisking until you can't feel any grainy sugar.
8. When the mixture is ready it will be bright white, thick and glossy.
9. Divide the meringue into bowls depending on how many colours you'll be using. Colour each bowl of meringue by adding a small drop of food gel and mixing well until you reach the desired colour.

Piping and Decorating Christmas Tree Meringues

1. To pipe vertical trees, fit a piping bag with an open star tip nozzle - I used the Wilton 1M.
2. Hold the piping bag vertically over a tray lined with baking paper and squeeze the piping bag releasing the pressure one or two times to get a tree shape (bigger at the bottom and smaller at the top).
3. To pipe flat trees fit a piping bag with a french tip nozzle - I used the Wilton 6B.
4. Start at the top of the tree and pipe a line underneath, swirling as you go so that the lines of meringue get progressively wider and you have a tree shape.
5. Cut a couple of paper straws into 4 sections and push a straw into the bottom of each tree.
6. Add sprinkles and bake for 2 hours or until the meringues are completely dry to the touch and lift away from the baking paper easily.

To make the wreaths

1. Use a teacup to stencil circles onto a lined baking tray.
2. Pipe mini roses and star shapes around the circle.
3. I used whatever meringue was leftover in the piping bags from making the Christmas trees.
4. Add sprinkles and bake for 2 hours or until the meringues are completely dry to the touch and lift away from the baking paper easily.

Meringue Top Tips

• Make sure your mixing bowl and utensils are spotlessly clean. I always wipe over my bowl and whisk with white vinegar. Any trace of grease in the bowl will deflate your meringue.
• A free-standing mixer/electric whisk is not essential but it will save you a LOT of arm ache. I have managed to whisk meringue mixture by hand but it took at least 4 times longer than using a mixer.
• When you separate the egg whites from the yolks make sure there is no trace of yolk or eggshell in the whites.
• Crack the eggs into your clean hand and let the whites slip through your fingers - you will catch the yolk in your palm and it will stay intact.
• If you do find eggshell in the whites the easiest way to remove it is by scooping it out using a larger piece of eggshell.
• Don't add the sugar until the egg whites are at stiff peaks or you'll deflate the mixture. You want to get as much air into the mixture as possible.
• In the final stages of making meringue keep mixing until the meringue is completely smooth when felt between your fingers. The bowl will feel much cooler to the touch on the outside and the meringue will look bright white, thick and glossy.

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