Peppermint Bark Meringues

If you love silky meringues but you’re also a fan of chocolate and peppermint, then this is the treat for you! In this post I’m going to show you how to make Delicious Peppermint Bark Meringues from scratch. 

Make these Peppermint Meringue Cookies with the Kids! 

If you like all things peppermint, these are the holiday treats for you!

I’ve been on a roll lately making sweet treats with grandkids and other sweet girls who are like adopted grandkids to me. I usually make whatever they ask me to make. 

This time? They begged for these meringues. 

It’s That Time of Year!

I put them off for a while and we focused on other things—like Edible Cookie Dough. And our delicious Bavarian Pretzels. But a couple of weeks ago they came over to make Nutella Christmas trees and I decided we could also knock out some meringues. I found a Christmas-themed recipe on Real House Moms and went from there.

Now, I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that things went perfectly smoothly. When you’ve got that many cooks in one (tiny!) kitchen, things can get chaotic. 

We made a bit of a mess in the end with the chocolate, which is why you don’t see any pristine “after” photos. I’m pretty sure I could have come up with some on my own, but in the end all that mattered was that the girls and I had a blast. (And we did!) 

What are Meringues? 

Meringues are a type of sweet dessert (sometimes called a meringue cookie) made from egg whites and sugar. They’re light and airy, but have a crisp and crunchy exterior. 

You’ll see these served as a dessert because of their sweet flavors and delicacy. But where did these sweet treats originate? Let’s look at that! 

Who Gave us Meringues? The French, or the Italians? 

The answer, my friends, is both! There are two different methods to meringues. I see this a lot in cake frosting. There’s an Italian meringue buttercream and a French Meringue buttercream. I’ve also got a recipe for a lovely Swiss meringue buttercream! 

As I said, the methods are completely different, because the French don’t add the hot sugar syrup mixture to theirs that the Italians do. 

The French Meringue method (which is used in our meringue recipe today) simply calls for whipped eggs white with sugar added. (We also added a dot of peppermint oil for flavor.) You’ll often see this method used in Pavlotas, meringue nests, and the kind of meringues we’re making today. 

The Italian Meringue method starts with whipped egg whites, to which boiling hot sugar syrup is added. It actually cooks the egg whites. (This makes their meringues very stable.) 

I wasn’t worried about stability because I knew we would be baking ours in the oven. 

(This might be a good point in the story to tell you that our first batch burned because I set the oven temp too high. I could’ve sworn my granddaughter said 325 degrees Fahrenheit when, in reality, she said 225! Oops!) 

But I Digress…

This meringue recipe, if mixed and baked properly, will yield dozens of meringues. I hesitate to give an exact number because that will depend on which tip you use and how big you make them. 

I think I can safely say you should get at least 50 – 60 of them. 

Meringue Ingredients

I’ll tell you more about the process in a bit, but let’s talk about what you’ll need to make these. You’ll find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick look at what you’ll need. No doubt you’ve probably already got a lot of these ingredients on hand in your kitchen. 

FOR THE MERINGUES

• large egg whites, room temperature
• cream of tartar 
• salt
• granulated sugar
• vanilla extract
• peppermint extract (or one dot peppermint oil)
• Red coloring gel

FOR THE TOPPING

• dark chocolate chips or melting wafers
• coconut oil or vegetable oil

TO DECORATE

• crushed candy canes or peppermints

How to Make French Meringue Cookies

These came together so easily! We had a blast making them and you will, too.

Start by preheating your oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Prep a couple of large cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Crush peppermints and set aside.  

In a clean grease-free bowl (like the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment) combine your egg white, cream of tartar, and salt.

Mix on low speed about a minute until it becomes foamy. 

Turn up to medium-high speed and continue to beat, adding the sugar, a few spoonfuls at a time. (Space it out to give the sugar time to begin to dissolve.) 

You want to keep beating until this meringue mixture is thick and shiny. It will greatly increase in volume. You’re looking for stiff peaks and it’s important that the sugar be completely dissolved. (Look at those gorgeous soft peaks, y’all!)

Now it’s time to add both extracts. (Use caution with the peppermint. It’s very strong and a little goes a long, long way.)  

Prep a disposable piping bag by adding a Wilton 1M tip (or other piping tip of your choice). I love the look of the large star tip, myself.

If you have red gel food coloring this is the time to paint stripes of red gel up the inside of the bag. 

Now fill your pastry bag with the meringue mixture, being careful not to overfill. 

Place a clip or rubber band on the end. 

Now the fun begins! Start piping puffs of meringue on a prepared baking sheet. (Check out those red stripes!)

You probably won’t see much red come through for the few few but be patient. It will eventually show up. (And white ones are nice, too!) 

We had so much fun at this point, letting each of the girls take a turn! (Check out their lovely peppermint meringue kisses!)

These meringues won’t really spread so feel free to put as many as you like fairly close together. 

And now, the hard part: waiting! Pop them into your preheated 225 degree oven and bake for one hour. Leave them in the oven an additional hour after turning off the heat and don’t open the oven door. This will give them time to cool completely. 

I loved the colors! They remind me of peppermint candies.

Once cooled, use a thin spatula to gently lift your cookies from the tray. A few might stick but if you’re careful you won’t ruin any.

Melt your dark chocolate chips or chocolate wafers with 1 tablespoon of oil. We did ours in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in-between. 

Once the chocolate is fully melted it’s time to dip the bottoms of the meringues into the chocolate. 

Afterward, add your crushed peppermint. (This is where we went wrong. We thought we could dip our meringues into the peppermint but we made a mess. So, we ended up just sprinkling it on.) 

Everybody got in on the action!

Place meringues on their sides on a piece of waxed paper to dry. 

Serve and enjoy!

Store peppermints in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator). They should stay good for a couple of weeks if you keep them in an airtight container.

What to Expect from these Meringues

As I said above, ours were kind of a hot mess, simply because I let the kids crush the peppermints and work with the chocolate. But other than that, these meringues were delicious and absolutely perfect for the holiday season.

They were crisp on the outside, dreamy on the inside, and had just enough candy cane flavor. (I was actually worried about this because the unbaked meringues tasted really strong.) Thank goodness the flavor dissipated while baking, which was good! (I was working with peppermint oil and you literally only need a dot of it.) 

The chocolate and crushed peppermint added a whole new flavor dimension to these adorable little cookies and I’m thinking they would be absolutely perfect on an annual Christmas tray or even at a Christmas cookie exchange. (Fun, right?) 

More than anything, it was pure delight to watch the girls have such a good time with the piping bag in hand. They took it very seriously! 

Variations on this Peppermint Meringues Recipe

I can’t wait to make this perfect meringue recipe again. I’m already thinking of ways I can change them up next time. Here are a few ideas that come to mind:

Chocolate meringues: I think chocolate would be dreamy. Maybe a bit of cocoa powder in the whipped egg whites? Or maybe stripe the bag in melted chocolate. (If you have any ideas, let me know!) 

Lemon meringues: I think these would be perfect for summer! A dot or two of lemon extract would be great! Stripe the bag in yellow to give off a lemony vibe. 

Lime meringues: Same concept as above, but go with lime extract and green lines. 

Orange meringues: You’re probably catching on by now. Use a dot of orange extract and orange coloring gel stripes. 

Almond Meringues: These would be delicious! Instead of peppermint, add a 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the eggs whites, along with the vanilla. Dip in white chocolate and sprinkle on crushed (or chopped) almonds. 

Let your imagination go into overdrive, folks! Make these fun, tasty, and colorful! 

That’s it for this post, friends!

I hope you enjoyed this delicious peppermint meringues recipe, just in time for the holiday cookie season!

If you make this easy recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you’re at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

See this recipe at

Full Plate Thursday 

Weekend Potluck

The Lazy Gastronome

Busy Monday 

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.