Christmas Meringues
Published Nov 27, 2017•Updated Jan 07, 2026
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Christmas Meringues are fun, festive, and easy to make. With a light, crunchy texture and topped with sprinkles, they are a great addition to a holiday cookie plate or cookie exchange.
Melanie says – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I first made these in 2022 and made them for the 3rd time this year. They’ve become a part of my family’s Christmas treat spread and I get better at it each time. Super simple if you follow the directions and very yummy!
Meringues are one of the first cookies I remember making entirely on my own. Because they require only three ingredients and bake low and slow, these are great for newbie bakers, young helpers. Or for distracted bakers who are trying to do 14 other things around the holidays (*raises hand*).
How to Make Christmas Tree Meringues
Meringues are simply egg whites and sugar beaten into stiff peaks like so…
Pin this now to save it for later
Pin It NowAnd then piped onto a baking sheet (in any shape you’d like) and baked at a low temperature for a couple hours until crisp. The oven is kept at 200 degrees F for these, so they’re hardly even baked – more like dried. It pulls out all the moisture and results in little “cookies” that are super crunchy and lightly sweet.
But for Christmas, we dye them green.
And pipe them into tree shapes.
Recipe Tip
No advanced piping skills are needed for these. Once you start, you’ll easily get in a groove and find a Christmas tree shape that works. And don’t worry if you don’t have a piping bag / tip. It works just as well to use a zip-top plastic bag with one corner snipped off.
Just top with sprinkles and transfer to the oven.
Cool and store / hide them from your kids who will request them at every hour of the day.
More Fun Christmas Cookies
Favorite Tools
Pin this now to save it for later
Pin It Now
Christmas Meringues
Equipment
- Stand or Handheld Mixer
- Parchment Paper
- Half Sheet Pans
- Piping Bag or Ziptop Bag
Ingredients
- 4 Egg Whites, cold
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar (200 grams)
- 1/8 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- Green Food Coloring or Green Food Gel
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Before starting:Make sure your mixing bowl and beaters are very clean with no traces of oil / butter from previous recipes. If in doubt, rub the bowl and beaters with a bit of white vinegar and then rinse them to remove any trace of oil.
- Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
- Line two sheet pans with parchment paper or top with silicon baking mats.
- Prepare a pastry bag and fit it with a large plain / round tip. (If you don’t have a pastry bag, just use a large zip-top bag with one corner cut off.)
- If not already separated, crack eggs and separate whites and yolks. (Note: Do this carefully. If there are any yolks mixed in with the whites, they will not whip correctly.)
- In the bowl of a standing mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high until light and foamy, ~2 minutes. Turn the mixer down and slowly add sugar while the mixer is running. Add cream of tarter.
- Increase mixer to high and continue mixing until egg whites are smooth and glossy, ~5 minutes more. (Note: You’ll know this is done when the mixture forms “stiff peaks” and stays in those peaks if you turn the beater upside down.)
- Add vanilla and food coloring / gel, mixing on medium, until the meringue reaches your desired color of green.
- Transfer the meringue to a piping bag and pipe into tree shapes on prepared baking sheet, making the base of each tree about the size of a quarter.
- Top the trees with sprinkles.
- Transfer trees to the oven and bake until very dry and crisp, rotating the pans halfway through, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Test for doneness by pulling one of the trees off the parchment paper. If it releases easily and is very crunchy, it’s done. (If the trees show any signs of turning golden brown before they are crisp, reduce heat to 175 degrees F.)
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Will keep for 3 to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m not sure how old my cream of tartar is, but I have meringue powder that I bought recently. Do you know if I could do a 1:1 ratio substitution?
These did not turn out. I beat them exactly as instructed. I didnt use cream of tartar because it said it was optional and I didnt have any. They did not setup like they shouldve.
Hi Tiffany – I’m so sorry to hear that. Did they hold their shape when you piped the onto the baking sheet and then flatten as they baked or did they never hold their shape? If they never formed the Christmas tree shapes (even before baking), I suspect it’s an issue with being over or under beaten – it’s a fine line there. Though the egg whites should hold their shape and can bake correctly even without the cream of tartar, it lends a remarkable amount of stability that helps to mitigate any other issues. I’ve actually updated the recipe to say that so that others don’t run into the same problem. Thanks so much for your note.
Can you add extract or will it mess up fluffyness
Yes – you can absolutely add extract. Just be sure to add a few drops towards the end of whipping the egg whites so that it doesn’t interfere with them rising.
Made these for our office party and they turned out perfect I used green sprinkles and it made the green trees because it had sugar in it and because I could not find the green food coloring and then I sprinkled green sprinkle with little balls pearl balls on it and a few red sprinkles and red balls They were really pretty and they tasted really good Thank you very much!
You’re so welcome! I’d love to try them with red balls – how festive!
Added a bit of peppermint to it and they were awesome.
Yes – great call on the peppermint!
I was looking for a recipe that included peppermint, so when I found that you added the peppermint I was wondering how many drops you would use for this recipe.
I just add about 1/2 teaspoon. It has a lot of flavor, so a little goes a long way.
Tips: the cream of tartar is NOT optional, y’all. I mean, you could try to make it without, but that “mix for 5 min” deal turns into like 45 min.
Get the cream of tartar.
Also, splurge on the $5 it costs to get a piping tool set. Makes it way easier and they’ll actually look like trees.
I used a plastic bag, and I don’t suck at piping. My trees look like festive turds 😂
But they taste good!!!
Everything else is on point! I’m making them again next year, but with my own learned lessons added in.
Perfect recipe!
I made these with my 4 year old granddaughter. They were so much fun to make. So festive, and they melt in your mouth! Definitely adding them to my annual cookie baking. Thank you!
Thanks so much for your sweet note, Sue! So glad you both liked them!
Followed the instructions to the letter and it would not stiffen up. I had to beat more egg whites and add them in to get it to remotely stand. But then they didn’t keep the shape. They slowly merged down into a round mound. What size eggs were used? I’m confused, because they should have turned out.
Hi Dawn – I’m so sorry to hear this. I suspect something went wrong with the beating of the egg whites – either they were over or under beaten. Did your egg whites form stiff peaks like in the photo? They should stay put when you hold the beater upside down.
If you dont have a high dollar stand mixer, or even a speedy hand mixer, its prolly not going to get enough speed to whip your eggs fluffy enough, I had the same issue when making 7 minute frosting for my Christmas cookies. Spoiler alert…dont try divinity either.
What a great idea. Here in Sweden we love meringues, so I know this will be a hit at our upcoming Julebord (Christmas buffet).
I think meringues are terribly overlooked here in the U.S. When were in Paris a few weeks ago, we saw them everywhere and I was inspired. They’re such a great crunchy sweet treat and so easy to make! (P.S. Ron, I love the word Julebord!)