3 Ingredient Peppermint Cloud Cookies
These peppermint cloud cookies are a festive and fun dessert. The cookies are light, airy, soft and like eating a cloud. They can be easily decorated and gifted. The cookies need just 3 ingredients and don't require flour, butter, dairy or oil. They are also low fat and low calorie cookies.
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (96 g) superfine granulated sugar, also known as caster sugar or baker's sugar
- 1/8 tsp (0.6 ml) peppermint extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225°F (107°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer. If you plan on using cream of tartar, add it at this time. See notes section for more details on adding cream of tartar.
- Using the wire whisk attachment, beat at medium speed until the eggs are foamy and soft peaks are forming, about 2 minutes.
- With the machine still running, slowly add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of it is added. Do not stop the machine to scrape any sugar that might be on the sides of the bowl. Continue to beat until mixture is thick, glossy and stiff peaks form. Once the peaks form, you can scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to get any sugar that stuck to the sides, add it back into the mixture and then beat on high for a few seconds until that excess sugar is incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the peppermint extract. Beat for only a few seconds just until the extract is incorporated and stiff peaks still remain.
- Fit a large piping bag with an open star tip (I used a Wilton 4B tip).
- Position the bag inside a tall glass, folding the top over the rim for stability. If using red gel food coloring, paint four thin, evenly spaced stripes along the inside of the bag. See note section regarding food coloring. See post for picture reference for how the food coloring should look inside the piping bag.
- Once the bag is prepped, fill it with meringue. Pipe ovals, between 1.5 to 2 inches long, onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them closely since they won’t spread much (for the photo reference I spaced them very far apart but you can space them much closer, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch space between each one). To pipe, draw an oval shape, then add a second layer on top to close the center, ensuring there are no gaps. Try to keep the meringues uniform in size. Once you start piping, you do want to work quickly because the meringue mixture will start to weep if left out too long.
- Wet your finger and press down on the tops to remove the points on the cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 1 hour. After 1 hour, turn off the oven, but keep the oven door closed and keep the cookies inside. Let the cookies sit in the oven for an additional 30-60 minutes (you can open the door briefly after 30 minutes to start checking if the cookies are ready). The cookies are done when you can peel them off the parchment paper. You do want to watch them closely during the last 30 minutes that they sit in the oven because you don’t want them to brown. It’s okay if they turn an off white, slight tan color but you don’t want them browned. The cookies may initially be very crisp when they are done. Let them sit out a few hours uncovered at room temperature until the inside is soft and chewy (but the outside stays firm and should not turn sticky).
- Once they reach this stage, they should be transferred to an airtight container. Be sure to store the cookies in an airtight container once the inside of the cookies are soft because otherwise the outside of the cookies will absorb too much moisture and turn sticky as well if they continue to sit out. Uneaten cookies can be kept in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Optional Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is sometimes used to help ensure your egg whites form a meringue. If you are not experienced with making meringue, or are used to adding cream of tartar, or are working in a very warm or humid environment, you can add 1/4 tsp tartar to the egg whites. I don't use it when making these cookies, but it does help ensure that you will have a stiff meringue batter.
- Optional red gel food coloring: If you would like to create red swirls like I did for my cookies, add some red food gel food coloring to your piping bag. First, make sure to use gel food coloring and not regular food coloring which is too watery. I used the gel food coloring that comes in tubes and painted streaks of red in the piping bag. If your food coloring doesn't come in a tube you can also take a popsicle stick to help paint it into the bag.
- Regular granular sugar: These cookies work best with superfine sugar (caster sugar) but you can substitute with regular granular sugar. Regular granular sugar will cause the cookies to look more tan when they are finished. They will also need to cook longer. After baking them for an hour in the oven, you will need to turn the oven off but keep the cookies in the oven for an additional hour.
- These are a meringue type of cookie but don't have the same texture as classic meringue cookies. When the cookies are done, they will be crisp on the outside and airy, soft and chewy on the inside.
- I used a Wilton 4B open star tip. (Amazon | Walmart)*
- I used this caster sugar.*
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 13kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 0.2g, Fat: 0.004g, Sodium: 4mg, Sugar: 3g, NET CARBS: 3
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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