Here is one of my favorite things...

Dana was questioning the other week on facebook why 'These are some of my favorite things' was now a Christmas song, and I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that one of my favorite things are Peppermint Meringues! Oh I do so love those light, sweet and airy little bites of heaven. So I'm going to share with you the best recipe I've found so far for them, and believe me...I've tried a lot of recipes. :)

The recipe was found as an alteration to another meringue recipe in my Taste of Home cookbook (I love this cookbook if you hadn't noticed) :) So on to the show!

Peppermint Meringues

Grocery Stuff:

3 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 candy canes, finely crushed

Cooking Stuff:

1. Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; let stand for 30 minutes. Beat egg whites with vanilla, cream of tartar and salt on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, about 1 spoonful at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes. You can test if the sugar is dissolved by rubbing a small amount of meringue between your finger and thumb and if it feels gritty then its not dissolved yet. :) 
2. Drop meringue by teaspoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. I prefer to put my meringue into a  bag and pipe it onto the parchment paper. I think this looks nicer. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
3. Bake at 250 for 40-45 minutes or until firm to the touch. Turn oven off; leave meringues in oven for 1-1/2 hours. Remove to wire racks. Store in an airtight container. 

So that's it. My most favorite cookie in a recipe that doesn't over brown the meringues! Yay! 

 The picture on the left are the unbaked meringues and the picture on the right are the baked meringues. I love that the candy melts and the meringues are still so light! 

I hope you guys enjoyed this cookie tour, because tomorrow I get to start setting the table for Christmas Eve dinner!