Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup superfine sugar (see Chef’s Note)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• Pink and red gel food coloring
• Crushed candy canes, for topping

Instructions

Heat oven to 275°F. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until very stiff – the whites should stand in stiff, not floppy, peaks when the beaters are lifted out. Once you have reached this point, slowly pour in roughly half the sugar, the vanilla extract and the peppermint extract and whisk again until the mixture becomes very thick, firm and shiny. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until thick, firm and shiny.

Take 1 cup of meringue and put it into a small bowl. Add red food coloring to get a dark red color. To the remaining meringue, add a few drops of pink food coloring and mix to get your desired base color. Then, swirl the red meringue into the pink. Don’t over-mix it or you will lose the streaks.

Drop spoonfuls of meringue onto the sheet. I like to use a large spoon that holds approximately 1/2 cup of meringue for the giant cookies. For these meringues, I like a free-form look vs a piped look. The meringues will spread slightly as they cook, so leave enough space between each one. Sprinkle some crushed candy canes on the top of each meringue. Bake in the oven for 1 hr, turning the heat down to 250°F after 30 mins.

Remove from the oven – they should peel easily away from the parchment – and cool on a wire rack. Can be made up to a week ahead and kept in an airtight container, or frozen for up to 3 months, between layers of parchment, in an airtight container.

Chef’s Note:

Superfine sugar is also called Baker’s Sugar. If you can’t find it, pulse the sugar in a food processor 5-6 times.