delicious confections: mint melties

I'm in the throes of Christmas baking and homemade gift making. We're heading to Ontario first thing tomorrow morning to visit family and won't be back until a week before the holidays really kick in. I'm making/baking most of my presents this year because who doesn't love receiving homemade treats? Tiny, mini loves of UBC cake have been baked, my totally addictive crack-like snack mix has been bottled up, an uber-fancy version of my standard granola has been packed into glass jars and I've got some potent limoncello waiting to be bottled and corked.

I did mix in some new players in the holiday baking mix this year. After seeing this delicious post on the 64 sq ft kitchen blog, I had to make those snowy white merengue cookies. I've made merengue to top key lime and lemon pies and I've also made a few showy pavlovas in my recent past, but I've never made a merengue cookie like this. Unfortunately, I don't have a piping bag so mine didn't have the kiss-like disposition, but despite their rustic outsides, their insides were delicious! I added a drop of peppermint extract to the egg whites and it flavoured these cookies beautifully. I also decided to dip the bottoms in white chocolate and Christmas sprinkles to make them more holiday-like.

I made these late at night and turned off the oven to let them sit overnight. In the morning, these white delicious blobs were still too gooey, so I turned the oven on low and checked on them every 15 mintues or so until they had the perfect consistency. You really want them crisp on the outside with a bit of gooey softness inside. Or if you like them dry, they will melt immedately on your tongue! Delicious confections, indeed.

merengue mint melties
3 egg whites, room temperature
dash of salt
3/4 c sugar
drop of peppermint extract
white chocolate buttons
holiday sprinkles

1. Using a stand mixer with the whip attachment, pour the egg whites along with a dash or salt into the bowl. Whip on med-high speed and when the egg whites begin to double in volume, slowly add in the sugar. Keep beating mixture until it becomes glossy and the texture begins to feel like melted marshmallows. Add in a drop of peppermint and whip until you can make peaks in the egg white.

2. Flour and butter a cookie sheet (or 2) and drop or pipe small mounds of batter. Don't worry, these cookies won't spread. Bake them in a preheated 190 degree oven or preheat the oven to 375 degrees and then turn off the oven and let the cookies sit over night. If you do the latter, you may have to rebake them at low heat if they aren't as dry as they should be. Store in an air-tight tin.

3. If you choose to dip these in chocolate, melt a small amount of white chocolate in the microwave. I pop open the microwave every 30 seconds or so to see if it's melted. Dip the bottoms of each cookie in the white chocolate and then sprinkle with the decorations. Leave them chocolate side up to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, then pack up in an air-tight tin.