If you need an easy Christmas treat the whole family will love, make these Meringue Christmas Trees! They are dairy-free, gluten-free, easy, and adorable! Whip up a batch for your next party or holiday cookie plate, and watch them disappear in no time flat!
These Christmas tree meringues are so fun to make! Meringues have a slightly crunchy texture on the outside and are light and airy on the inside, making them the perfect treat to enjoy this time of year. Don’t worry, newbie bakers—these are easy enough for even novices to make!
Welcome to 2023’s 12 Days of Cookies!
These Meringue Christmas Trees are Day 9 of our 12 Days of Cookies!
Be sure to check out all of the other days for more goodies!
Day 1 – Cherry Biscotti
Day 2 – Sour Cream Cookies
Day 3 – Chai Spritz Cookies
Day 4 – Millionaire Bars
Day 5 – Chocolate Chip Potato Chip Cookies
Day 6 – Nana’s Oatmeal Cookies
Day 7 – No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
Day 8 – Coffee Cake Cookies
Day 9 – You’re on it!
Day 10 –
Day 11 –
Day 12 –
SAVE THIS RECIPE FOR CHRISTMAS TREE MERINGUE COOKIES TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
What equipment do I need to make Meringue Cookies?
To make these meringue Christmas trees, you need typical baking equipment like a large cookie sheet, measuring cups and spoons, parchment paper, a medium saucepan, and a heatproof mixing bowl and whisk.
You’ll also need a piping bag and an open large star tip (I use Wilton 4B) to create the meringue trees.
Ingredients for Meringue Christmas Tree Cookies
You only need a few simple ingredients to make meringues:
- 4 large egg whites (room temperature)
- 1 cup sugar
- A pinch of cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of green food coloring
- Golden star sprinkles, assorted white and gold sprinkles, colored nonpareils
Add Flavor to your Meringues
If you want something other than vanilla meringues, you can try adding one of these flavors to your meringue mixture. Use 1 teaspoon of each, but separately, of course, not all together:
- Peppermint Extract
- Pumpkin Spice Mix
- Almond Extract
- Hazelnut Extract
How to make Christmas Tree Meringues
First, let’s prepare our baking space and make the meringue mixture.
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Fill a medium saucepan with a couple of inches of water, then bring it to a simmer over medium heat.
- In a large bowl that’s heatproof, combine the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Place this bowl over the saucepan and whisk the meringue mixture constantly until the sugar dissolves and the egg whites are warm. This will take approximately 3-4 minutes, and you can test to see if the sugar is fully dissolved by rubbing the solution between your clean fingers; it should feel smooth to the touch when it’s ready.
- Note: I like to use the metal bowl from my stand mixer as I can easily transfer it back to my stand mixer in the next step. If you don’t have one, you can use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment for the next step.
- Remove the bowl from the heat. Place the bowl back in the stand mixer, and beat on low speed with the whisk attachment. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high.
- Continue to beat the meringue for 7-10 minutes or until the egg whites form glossy stiff peaks. Then add the green food coloring and vanilla extract and beat until combined, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl, too.
How to pipe Meringue Christmas Trees
Place a Wilton 4B piping tip into a large piping bag and cut off the tip of the bag. Fill the piping bag 3/4 full meringue. I like to use a tall cup or glass, place the piping bag down inside, and then fold the top of the bag down over the rim of the cup. Then there’s plenty of room to easily transfer the meringue to the bag.
Now, pipe the Christmas tree shape, holding the piping bag perpendicular (or at a 90-degree angle) to the baking sheet. It’s important that you hold the back at the 90° angle over the parchment, otherwise, the trees will be crooked and slump. Just take your time and be patient. You got this.
Follow one of two methods below to make the tree shape:
- Hold the piping bag in one place and squeeze a ball of meringue onto the parchment, pushing down as it spreads to create the base of the tree. Release the pressure and pull up slightly at the same time, then squeeze again the same way to create the middle of the tree, making it slightly smaller. Release the pressure and pull up again, then squeeze a final time to make the small top of the tree.
- Or, form a circle by moving the piping bag in a clockwise, circular motion as you squeeze, then release the pressure and pull up. Form the middle by piping a slightly smaller circle, then once again release the pressure and pull up. Finish with a small circle for the top of the tree.
I found the trees to be more uniform and thought they looked better when pulling up the piping bag, creating the three sections as opposed to using the swirl method. All of the trees pictured in this post were created that way.
The trees should measure about 1 ¼ inch in height. If they are taller than that they’ll fall over, so try not to make them too big.
Decorate the Meringue Christmas Tree Cookies
- Place a gold star on the top of each meringue tree, then sprinkle each tree with white and gold sugar and/or colored nonpareils. Of course, feel free to use any Christmas sprinkles you desire!
- I have heard that some sprinkles don’t hold up in the oven, so if you are worried about your stars melting, you can add them at the end with just a dot of icing to hold them in place.
- You can also dust the trees with powdered sugar to resemble snow, but don’t do this until after the meringues bake and cool. I used my OXO sugar duster to give them that snowy appearance.
- Another fun option is to dip the baked and cooled meringues into melted chocolate.
Bake the Meringue Trees
Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 2 hours. Do not open the oven door at any point! After 2 hours, turn the oven off and leave the meringues inside for at least another 4 hours or overnight. Again, DO NOT open the oven! I know it’s tempting to look at your incredible creations, but don’t do it!! Just turn the oven light on instead to admire them.
Finally, it’s time! Remove the meringues from the baking sheet and serve to your guests, family, and friends!
How to store Meringue Christmas Trees
These Christmas cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
More Meringue Desserts
If you can’t get enough of this delicious treat, try making one of these holiday meringue desserts:
- Peppermint Meringues
- Peppermint Candy Cane Meringues
- Pumpkin Spice Meringue Pumpkins
- Lemon Meringue Cheesecakes
- Lemon Meringue Pie
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Meringue Christmas Trees
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Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- pinch of cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon green food coloring
- golden star sprinkles
- assorted white and gold sprinkles
- colored non-pareils
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 175 degrees F., and prepare a large cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper. They will not spread as they bake, so you can put them about 1-inch apart on the tray.
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Fill a medium saucepan with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
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In a heat proof mixing bowl, combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar.
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Place bowl over saucepan and whisk constantly until all sugar is dissolved and egg whites are warm. This will take approximately 3-4 minutes and can be tested by rubbing the solution between your clean fingers. It should feel smooth to the touch.
-
With the wire whisk attached to the mixer, place bowl in mixer and beat on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to high, and beat until the egg whites form stiff and glossy peaks about 7 – 10 minutes. Add the food coloring and vanilla and mix until well combined, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl, too.
-
Place a Wilton open star tip 4B into a piping bag and cut off the tip of the bag. To fill the bag, Fold up the bottom of the bag with the tip, place into a tall glass, and fold the top of the bag over the glass rim. This will give you more room to spoon the meringue into the bag as opposed to just holding it with your other hand. Fill the bag ⅔ – ¾ full, so that the meringue doesn't squeeze out the top as you pipe.
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You can form the trees in two different ways by holding the piping bag at a 90 degree angle to the baking sheet. 1) Form a circle by moving the piping bag in a clockwise motion and pull up or 2) Squeeze some meringue onto the parchment to create the bottom. To create the middle of the tree, pull up the bag as you gently squeeze a smaller section than the bottom. Do the same to put an even smaller section on the top. See note.
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Place a gold star on the top of each tree, and sprinkle with the gold and white sugar and/or colored non-pareils.
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Bake for 2 hours without opening the oven door at any point.
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Turn oven off (again without opening the oven door) and allow meringues to remain in oven for another 4 hours or overnight. Before serving, you can also dust with powdered sugar to resemble snow.
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Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
It’s important to hold the piping bag at a 90° angle over the parchment otherwise they trees will be crooked or slump over.
The trees measure about 1 ¼ inch in height. If they are taller than that they’ll fall over, so try not to make them too tall.
I dusted some of them with powdered sugar using my OXO sugar duster so that they’d have a snowy appearance.
Nutrition
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