There was a time when I thought only a wizard, or my dad, could whip eggs into that elusive, glossy, tall and fluffy, stark bright meringue white.
Meringue aren’t reserved for wizards (or baking dads). We can have our own… as minty and light as air as we’d like them.
I would still say that the best meringue comes atop my dad’s Lemon Meringue Pie which, as I type this, I realize I’ve never attempted to make on my own. That needs to be remedied immediately. What I remember about those pies was the pillowy white mound atop the a creamy yellow. The meringue would weep just slightly on the high counter above the kitchen sink, facing the kitchen window, right beside my goldfish in her modest bowl. I just put all those memory pieces together. I can’t believe they’re still in there.
These meringues are mint infused and chocolate chunked. Whipped to light, tinted the most pale green, and dried in a low oven to crisp. Dry and crisp on the outside, and almost nougaty towards the center. Don’t let the wizardry get you flustered. Egg whites want to meringue, and I want these for you.
Two ways to coax this stiff, opaque white from loose egg whites: add an acid (in this case cream of tartar), and gradually add the sugar. Both steps will allow the whites to gradually take voluminous shape.
I added a splash of peppermint extract and a mean handful of coarsely chopped dark chocolate.
And a hint of green too. Sometimes minty things just taste better when pale green. See: drug store scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Dolloped and swirled.
You could use a piping bag if you’d like little kiss shapes, if you’d like them perfectly uniform, if you want to do more dishes.
Into the oven to slowly bake to a dry crisp. It’s much more appetizing than it sounds.
They start whole, but crumble when eaten. It’s a pleasing crumble if you don’t bearing the evidence down the front of your shirt. I should also say that if you were to whip up a batch of chocolate whipped cream and crumble one of these meringues over a light-whip situation… that’s would be a very fine time.
Here’s how. Wizard tricks:
PrintMinty Chip Meringues
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 70
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 12
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate
- green food coloring
Instructions
- Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Clean and dry the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add egg whites and beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add pinch of salt and cream of tartar. Increase speed to medium high and beat to soft peaks. The egg whites will be white and foamy, with large but tight bubbles.
- Gradually add the granulated sugar, increasing the mixer speed to high. Beat for about 3 minutes on high speed, until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- Stir in the peppermint extract and chocolate chunks.
- Egg whites will be spoonable, but keep their shape when dolloped onto a baking sheet.
- On prepared baking sheet, dollop out egg white mixture into two heaping tablespoonfuls. Space about 1-inch apart, although the meringues won’t spread as they bake. Place in the oven and allow to cook for 60 to 70 minutes. Meringues will brown sightly on the top and feel hollow to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Remove from the parchment and serve with coffee or mint tea.
- Meringues will last, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
teachersu45
My mom used to make some very similar to these at Christmas every year. The recipe was the same, but with vanilla instead of mint extract. And instead of chocolate, she would chop up a bunch of Andes Mints and fold them into the meringue. The end taste I am sure was quite similar, just a different way of getting the mint in. This post has made me nostalgic for those cookies and I may just need to make them this afternoon!
Victoria Sponge Pease Pudding
Minty meringues! These look lovely. You’ve reminded me that I haven’t made a lemon meringue pie, which is my Granda’s favourite along with my mum and dads, in ages. Must rectify that as soon as I unpack my mixer in my new place and christen the kitchen.
http://victoriaspongepeasepudding.com/
Rebeca
You read my mind, Joy! I was looking for a good meringue recipe and there you were! I made them yesterday for a friend who’s helping us move (and who’s crazy about the stuff) and he loved them. I don’t like meringues, but they sure looked pretty!
Blanca Oliver
These look yummy but, maybe because I’m not American, I’ve never been a fan of mixing mint and chocolate. Could I just use vanilla extract instead of mint? I thought of brown butter too but I guess the fat would mess them up, wouldn’t it?
Blanca (from Lausanne, Switzerland)
Megala
Lovely mint meringues!
Lori
Love the final picture on this post ?
Raheel Shaharyar
Do you use fresh eggs or carton? I find that the carton ones don’t whip to stiff peak.
joythebaker
I definitely use fresh!
Cheryl
I found that the carton ones have to be at room temp to whip stiff peaks
Ellen
I love mint chip meringues! I make a version during the holidays with ground up candy canes but this would be a great thing to try when candy canes aren’t in season;)
pinchofdelight
These look amazing – meringues and mint choc chip are my favourite!!!!!
– Izzy. x
heather (delicious not gorgeous)
i recently made a batch of meringues and they were so easy, and yet they still seemed so magical (especially for something that is essentially a blob of sweetened egg whites).
Ashlyn @ Pedantic Foodie
I love meringues and these look especially tempting!
Aimee Newman
I honestly thought the first picture was scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream! These look beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Claire, UK
Not only do these look delicious, I just so happen to have everything to make them in my house right now! I’m thinking it’s going to be meringues for tea tonight. That’s allowed if I’m spending my day off cleaning my house, right?
Debbi
These just got added to the Easter meal. I gave up sweets for Lent and these look like a perfect reenrty to decadence! I hope it is not humid here in NOLA for Easter since I find meringues so much easier to do on a dry-ish day.
youngscrappyhungry
looks great. I don’t have a Kitchenaid mixer but wondering if my trusty hand mixer will do the trick with a ceramic bowl?
teachersu45
Yes it will. My mom never had a stand mixer when I was growing up and she always used her hand mixer for her version of these.