An elegant and delicious treat to enjoy for your choice of holiday themes: Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day!
As with many of my other creations, these meringues were developed out of the need to use up some ingredients I had on hand. I had four egg whites left over from another dish I made. And before I knew it – voila! – these Mint Chocolate Meringues were born.
These meringues are crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. Bring these to a Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day party, to work, or make them to share with your family and friends. Be prepared to wow the crowd with these gorgeous, delicate and decadent little jewels.
Don’t be intimidated by their upscale appearance, these meringue treats are not difficult to make. As usual, I’ve provided pictured instructions so you can see what everything is supposed to look like. Prep time is less than 10 minutes and other than dipping the meringues in chocolate at the end, the oven does the rest!
Crack the whites of 4 large eggs into a small bowl.
If you don’t have caster sugar (super fine sugar), place regular granulated sugar in a coffee or spice grinder and grind for a couple of minutes until fine.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attached. Absolutely make sure the bowl is totally dry with no trace of grease. Even a smidgen of grease will keep the egg whites from stiffening.
Beat on medium speed just until foamy and add the cream of tartar. Cream of tartar helps stabilize the egg whites so that they will firm up nicely and retain their shape.
After adding the cream of tartar, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form.
While still beating, gradually add the sugar in a steady stream.
Scrape down the sides to get all of the sugar incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. The mixture will develop a beautiful satiny appearance.
Add the natural green food coloring, vanilla extract and mint extract. Add however many drops you want until the desired shade is reached.
Beat just until the color is incorporated.
Use a rubber spatula or a large spoon to scoop out the meringue.
Spoon drops of meringue (about 2 inches in diameter) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, or a very lightly greased nonstick baking sheet. Bake the meringues in the oven preheated to 200F for 2 hours or until no longer sticky. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in the oven to cool completely.
Remove the cooled meringues from the oven.
Place a double boiler over boiling water and add the chocolate (I ended up using 4 squares instead of three). Melt completely and keep the chocolate heated in the double boiler while you are dipping the meringues so that it doesn’t harden.
Dip the bottoms of the meringues in the chocolate and carefully lay them upside down on wax paper to dry and harden completely. Store the meringues in an airtight container and keep them in a dark place that doesn’t reach extreme temperatures. Will keep up to two weeks.
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 cup caster sugar (or granulated sugar ground in a coffee grinder)
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon mint extract
- A few drops of natural green or red food coloring
- 3 ounces semisweet dark chocolate
- Crushed green candy canes (optional)
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with the wire whisk attached. Beat on medium speed until foamy, then add the cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium high and and beat until soft peaks appear. While continuing to beat, add the sugar gradually in a stream. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla extract, mint extract and green or red food coloring and beat just until combined.
- Preheat the oven to 200F.
- Drop spoonfuls of the egg mixture (2 inches in diameter) onto either a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or a very lightly greased nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 2 hours or until no longer sticky, then turn the oven off, leaving the baking sheet with the meringues in the oven to cool completely.
- For the dipping chocolate, place the chocolate squares in a double boiler over boiling water and melt completely. Dip the bottoms of the cooled meringues in the chocolate, shaking off the excess, and place the meringues upside down on some waxed paper to dry completely. Or dip the chocolate bottoms in crushed red or green candy canes before allowing them to cool.
- Store the meringues in an airtight container and keep in a dark place that doesn't reach extreme temperatures. Will keep up to two weeks.
molly says
This looks like a perfect lunch too. I’m always looking for new vegetarian dishes for lunch because I try not to eat meat until dinner. Since I’m married to a meat eating airborne army man, a meatless dinner isn’t an option 🙂 Once I suggested meatless Mondays and he said, “Sure, we can eat fish on those days.” Oy.
Erin says
When I try this my whites never get stiff. I whisk them until soft peaks then start adding the sugar slowly. But before I’ve even added all the sugar it gets soupy. Any ideas what’s going wrong?
Janis Long says
I took your advise when I made the lemon curd…..I used the leftover egg whites for your St Paddy’s mint meringues dipped in chocolate. So easy to make, delish and I chopped some candy canes to top them off. Great way to use leftover egg whites. Thanks for the great recipes 😁
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s fantastic, Janis, thanks so much for the feedback!
Linda says
Oh my gosh! This looks amazing!!!! I love meringues and mint ones are even better.
The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks for the compliment, Linda, and for stopping by! Happy baking!
Cindy says
I’m so making these this weekend! And I’m blogging about it! Thank you!!
The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome!! I need to include this in the recipe – if you leave the meringues sitting out for a while, they’ll soften bit (versus keeping them airtight sealed the whole time). So, depending on which texture you prefer… Also, if you bake them for an hour and a half instead, and then turn off the oven, they’ll be chewier in the middle. Thanks for blogging about it! Thanks for visiting, Cindy, and happy baking!
Liz says
How much sugar specifically do you add?
The Daring Gourmet says
1 cup of caster sugar (or regular granulated sugar ground up in a coffee grinder). Happy baking!
Katy @ Katyskitchen says
I can just imagine the texture of these with the chocolate dip. Mint + chocolate are probably two of the best flavour combinations.
The Daring Gourmet says
I wholeheartedly agree! Thanks for stopping by, Katy.
Delishhh (@DelishhhBlog) says
HI – Kimberly – i found your blog after reading your Kalops recipe on Honest Cooking. And then saw that you live in Seattle. I write Delishhh.com, and Swede living in Seattle. Just thought i would hop over and say hi. Nice blog will be back!
The Daring Gourmet says
Thank your for the compliment and it’s nice to meet a fellow WA blogger. Ditto on the lovely blog. Glad we’ve connected!
Rosie @ Blueberry Kitchen says
Ah I love these, what a great idea!
The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Rosie!
Dani says
These look delicious. Can’t wait to try them.
The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks for the compliment, Dani, and for visiting!