Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Meringues

As strange as this sounds, meringues are one of my favorite types of cookies.  They're light, cute, easy to make, and there's so much you can do with them!  They're also perfect for the holidays and colder months, as these little guys do not play well with humidity.  They will drink up any available moisture and quickly become chewy and gummy.  Baking them during the summer months can make me say bad words, but baking them at Christmas is a breeze!

The air in my house is currently as dry as the Sahara Desert due to running the heat every day, and while that is no fun for my throat and sinuses, it is the perfect environment for making meringue cookies!

About a year and a half ago, I posted a double vanilla meringue recipe that was a total winner.  That post has some fantastic tips and possible pitfalls to avoid when making meringues, so if this is your first time giving these a try, it might be helpful to read that one first!

For these, I wanted to add some holiday tastes, so I used peppermint extract and then dipped them into chocolate.  A sprinkling of crushed peppermints was the final touch.  Wouldn't these look pretty on a tray at your holiday parties this year?  They look totally impressive but are really not difficult at all to make!

Trust me, once you've made your first batch of meringues, you'll keep coming back to them.  The texture is so unique and different from any other type of cookie.  When you first bite into it, you'll crunch through the crisp outer shell.  Then the inside reminds me of a malt ball - it literally just melts in your mouth.  Sooo good!

Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Meringues

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• Author: Erin Browne
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hours
• Total Time: 3 hours 10 mins
• Yield: 60-70 cookies 1x

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Ingredients

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• 4 egg whites at room temperature
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• ⅔ cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 TBS shortening
• Crushed peppermints for sprinkling

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 225F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Wipe down mixing bowl, beaters, and utensils with white vinegar to remove any residue.
3. With mixer on medium speed, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
4. Gradually add the sugars, a couple of tablespoons at a time, while the mixer runs on high speed.
5. Continue mixing on high speed until stiff peaks form.
6. Add peppermint extract and fold into meringue gently.
7. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large tip of your choosing. You can also use a ziploc bag with the corner cut off.
8. Pipe 60-70 dollops onto parchment paper an inch or so apart. The meringues won't spread much while baking.
9. Bake for about 90 minutes, and then turn the oven off and leave the pan in the oven for an additional 90 minutes or until dry.
10. FOR THE CHOCOLATE COATING:
11. Melt chocolate chips with shortening using a double boiler on low heat, or microwave in 20-30 second intervals at 50% power.
12. Dip the bottom third of dried and cooled meringues and then immediately sprinkle the sides and bottom with crushed peppermint.
13. Place onto wax paper until chocolate has set.
14. Store meringues at room temperature in an air tight container - keep away from humidity.

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