Christmas Tree Meringue
Add these fun and unique Christmas Tree Meringue to your holiday baking list! Fluffy, sweet, but not overbearingly sweet, these fun treats are super simple to make and are ready with just a minimal amount of effort.
While I’m sure your holiday baking is full of all the best cookies, you absolutely need to add this meringue dessert to your arsenal. After you’ve made a batch of these Christmas Tree treats, you can make some fun Christmas decorations.
Christmas decorations totally go hand in hand with yummy treats. I totally recommend making these Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments to go along with your holiday desserts.
Why You’ll Love This Dessert Recipe
- The hardest part of this dessert is waiting for the meringue to dry
- Sweet but not too sweet
- Easy to make a big batch or double and even triple the recipe easily
- Would be a great edible gift for family and friends
Ingredients Needed
Here are the ingredients you need to make your meringue trees.
- Egg whites
- Cream of tartar
- Sugar
- Vanilla sugar
- Different confectionery toppings
- Green food coloring
How to Make Christmas Tree Meringue
Preheat your oven to 160F. In a large mixing bowl, mix egg whites with the cream of tartar and beat at low speed until a foam starts to appear. It usually starts to appear after a minute or so.
Add in ⅓ of the sugar and vanilla sugar and mix for 20 seconds. Once that’s mixed in, add another third and mix for 20 seconds again.Once that is all mixed in, add the final third of the two sugars and mix to combine well.
Add in your green food coloring to the mixture and stir it in. Be sure to set some white aside if making the white snow on the Christmas trees later. See more info on that below.
Continue to whip for another 5-6 minutes. The meringue is done when it is dense and fluffy. If it doesn’t drip or hang from the whisk it is ready.
Carefully transfer your meringue to piping bags that have a star tip already on them and ready. Put your green meringue in one bag and your white meringue in a separate one.
Grab your baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
First lay out a strip of meringue and add your tree sticks on top of the strips.
Hold your piping bag upright and now pipe out a Christmas tree over each stick with the meringue.
Add your decorations and confectionery toppings before putting the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 1.5-2 hours. Don’t open the door to check on them or you will be altering the oven temp, messing with the meringue.
Once the baking time is up, remove from the oven and let cool before enjoying.
Storage
Storing French meringue properly is very important. Any change in temperature or humidity can mess up your meringue if you do not store the Christmas Trees correctly.
Once your meringue has cooled enough, either serve and enjoy or store them immediately. They need to be transferred to an airtight container and keep them in a cool, dry area.
If stored properly they should keep for up to 2 weeks. If layering your meringue in a container, place a sheet of parchment paper in between layers.
Also keep your Christmas Tree French Meringue out of direct sunlight when choosing the place you wish to store it.
Freezing
You can freeze your Christmas Meringue for up to a month. Be sure to store it properly, in a freezer safe container with parchment paper in between layers.
Be careful when thawing it out, don’t let it get too warm too quickly or it may start to weep or sweat and can change consistency.
Tips and Variations
- When you are choosing your food coloring, keep your end goal in mind. Gel food coloring will give you more vibrant colors and you only need just a little bit to make it bright. However, gel may slightly change the consistency of your meringue. Liquid food coloring gives you a more subdued color choice and may slightly alter the consistency. Powder food coloring will not change the consistency of your meringue and you can change the shade of green relatively easily by using more powder.
- When the time comes to add your green food coloring, start with just a few drops. Once you start to mix it, assess the shade of green that you are getting and decide if you want it darker. It’s easier to add more to the meringue to make it darker, but it is not easy to make the meringue lighter in color. So, be careful and start slow when adding in the food coloring.
- The times we listed for whipping the meringue are suggestions or estimates. This can vary widely depending on how powerful your mixer is. If your mixer is older with less of a power output, it may need more time. Always keep an eye on your meringue as it’s whipping so you don’t over do it.
- These Christmas Tree Meringues are great to give as an edible gift or to sell at a bake sale. Always include storage instructions so the recipient knows how to store them properly and can get the most lifespan out of them.
How long do you dry your meringue?
When you bake your meringue, you are essentially drying it out. If you want a soft meringue that is still soft in the center of each tree, dry it for an hour and a half. If you want a dryer, harder meringue, increase the bake time to 2 hours.
How do we make the snow on the Christmas Tree?
This is really easy. All you have to do is save some of the meringue to the side before you add in your green food coloring. Then you can add on the snow to the green meringue trees.
If you have been wanting to try to make French meringue but haven’t had the chance yet, use this easy Christmas Tree Meringue recipe to make your first batch and see just how easy it is.
