Meringue Trees
These meringue trees are so easy to make and are the perfect holiday treat! They’re light, airy, and perfectly crunchy on the outside with chewy centers.
How to Make These Christmas Tree Meringues: Step-by-Step Process
While the recipe below is quite detailed, I find visual cues to be super helpful! Below are some photos of the process to help guide you through this recipe.
I’ve also shared a list of tools I used to make these! If you don’t have them on hand, feel free to work with what you’ve got!
- Stand Mixer or Electric Mixer
- Large, flat baking sheet
- Silpat Mat (or parchment paper)
- 1 Large Piping Bag (18-inch)
- Open or Closed Star Piping Tip – like a Wilton 1M
Step 1: Preheat the Oven & Make the Meringue
Preheat the oven to 200°F/93°C and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
Before you whip up the meringue, make sure there are no traces of grease on the whisk attachment or in your bowl.
Grease can prevent the meringue from whipping up properly. If you see or feel any grease, moisten a paper towel with vinegar and wipe the inside of the bowl and the whisk attachment to remove any grease.
Then add 4 large egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles.
Add 1/2 tsp cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage and leaves visible tracks.
Gradually mix 1 cup of granulated sugar into the egg whites over a few minutes while mixing on a medium-low speed.
When the meringue gets close to reaching stiff peaks, add 1/2 tsp of vanilla or almond extract and a squirt of green gel food coloring.
Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form. Don’t worry if the color of the meringue is lighter than you expect, we will be adding gel food coloring to the inside of the piping.
Scrape around the sides of the bowl to make sure all the meringue is evenly colored.
Step 2: Pipe the Meringue Trees & Decorate Them With Sprinkles
Fit a large piping bag with an open or closed star piping tip (like a Wilton 1M). Do not use a bigger piping tip than this, or the meringue won’t be able to keep its shape once it’s piped.
Use a small paintbrush to brush green gel food coloring on the inside of the piping tip and piping bag.
Then scoop the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a large open or closed star piping tip. Seal the top of the bag with a rubber band or clip.
Pipe little trees by piping three dollops of meringue on top of each other. These don’t spread as they bake, so they can be piped about 1 inch apart.
Ideally, you’ll fit all the trees on one tray because these take so long to bake and cool.
Toss nonpareil sprinkles over the meringues to look like Christmas ornaments. Add a star sprinkle to the top of each tree if desired.
Step 3: Bake & Gradually Cool the Meringues
Bake the tray on the middle rack of your oven for 90 minutes, then turn the oven off and let the trees sit in the oven for another hour without opening the door.
Letting them gradually cool helps prevent them from cracking. At this point, the trees should be fully cooked and look and feel dry to the touch. If they still seem wet or moist, leave them in the oven for another half hour.
Let the meringues cool fully to room temperature, then lightly dust them with powdered sugar using a fine sieve to make them look like snow, and enjoy! They should have a crunchy exterior and a soft, chewy center.
These can be stored at room temperature for up to two weeks.
How Many Meringue Trees Does This Recipe Make?
The yield can vary a lot based on how large you pipe the trees and what piping tip you use. I like to pipe them pretty small and usually make about 40 when I use a Wilton 1M tip.
Tips for Making the Best Meringue Trees
- Note that with the total bake and cool time, these need to be in the oven for at least 2.5 hours, if not overnight. I like to make these at the end of the day, so it doesn’t get in the way of any other baking/cooking I need the oven for.
- Separate your eggs while they’re still cold! While we want the egg whites to be room temperature when we whip them up, it’s easiest to separate them when they’re still cold.
- Use gel food coloring to color the meringue. If you try to use liquid food coloring, it can throw off the consistency and cause the meringue to be less stable.
- Beat the meringue on a medium-high speed instead of the highest speed. This will help you create a more stable meringue with smaller air bubbles that will be easier to pipe.
- Bake time can vary based on how large you pipe the trees and what piping tip you use. After they’ve baked and cooled in the oven, test them for doneness by gently trying to peel one off the baking mat or parchment paper. It should peel off cleanly.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this recipe for meringue trees, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a rating and comment below.
Tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets on social media so that I can see your amazing creations!
Meringue Trees
Equipment
Ingredients
French Meringue Trees
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature 120g
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar – optional
- 1 cup superfine caster or granulated sugar 200g
- 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract – optional 3g
- green gel food coloring
Optional Decorations
- nonpareil sprinkles
- star sprinkles
- powdered sugar – for dusting
Instructions
Meringue Christmas Trees
- Preheat the oven to 200°F/93°C and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- Before you whip up the meringue, make sure there are no traces of grease on the whisk attachment or in your bowl. Grease can prevent the meringue from whipping up properly. If you see or feel any grease, moisten a paper towel with vinegar and wipe the inside of the bowl and the whisk attachment to remove any grease.
- Then add 4, large egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add 1/2 tsp cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage and leaves visible tracks.
- Gradually mix 1 cup of granulated sugar into the egg whites over a few minutes while mixing on a medium-low speed. Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed (6 on a KitchenAid). When the meringue gets close to reaching stiff peaks, add 1/2 tsp of vanilla or almond extract and a squirt of green gel food coloring. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form. Don't worry if the color of the meringue is lighter than you expect, we will be adding gel food coloring to the inside of the piping. Scrape around the sides of the bowl to make sure all the meringue is evenly colored.
- Fit a large piping bag with an open or closed star piping tip (like a Wilton 1M). Do not use a bigger piping tip than this, or the meringue won't be able to keep its shape once it's piped. Use a small paintbrush to brush green gel food coloring on the inside of the piping tip and piping bag. Then scoop the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a large open or closed star piping tip. Seal the top of the bag with a rubber band or clip.
- Pipe little trees by piping three dollops of meringue on top of each other. These don't spread as they bake, so they can be piped about 1 inch apart. Ideally, you'll fit all the trees on one tray because these take so long to bake and cool. Toss nonpareil sprinkles over the meringues to look like Christmas ornaments. Add a star sprinkle to the top of each tree if desired.
- Bake the tray on the middle rack of your oven for 90 minutes, then turn the oven off and let the trees sit in the oven for another hour. Letting them gradually cool helps prevent them from cracking. At this point, the trees should be fully cooked and look and feel dry to the touch. If they still seem wet or moist, leave them in the oven for another half hour.
- Remove the tray from the oven. They should have a crunchy exterior and a soft, chewy center. Let the meringues cool fully to room temperature, then lightly dust them with powdered sugar using a fine sieve to make them look like snow. Enjoy! These can be stored at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Video
Notes
How Many Meringue Trees Does This Recipe Make?
The yield can vary a lot based on how large you pipe the trees and what piping tip you use. I like to pipe them pretty small and usually make about 40 when I use a Wilton 1M tip.Tips for Making the Best Meringue Trees
- Note that with the total bake and cool time, these need to be in the oven for at least 2.5 hours, if not overnight. I like to make these at the end of the day, so it doesn’t get in the way of any other baking/cooking I need the oven for.
- Separate your eggs while they’re still cold! While we want the egg whites to be room temperature when we whip them up, it’s easiest to separate them when they’re still cold.
- Use gel food coloring to color the meringue. If you try to use liquid food coloring, it can throw off the consistency and cause the meringue to be less stable.
- Beat the meringue on a medium-high speed instead of the highest speed. This will help you create a more stable meringue with smaller air bubbles that will be easier to pipe.
- Bake time can vary based on how large you pipe the trees and what piping tip you use. After they’ve baked and cooled in the oven, test them for doneness by gently trying to peel one off the baking mat or parchment paper. It should peel off cleanly.
Nutrition
Other Recipes You Might Like:
Can I freeze these? Also, how long do these last once baked?
Hi Melissa,
These can be stored at room temperature for up to two weeks, but can’t be frozen. Hope that helps, happy baking!
How long are these good for once made?
Could I sub meringue powder for the cream of tartar?
You totally can, I did that with the last batch I made! Or you can just omit it too! Hope that helps, happy baking 🙂
These were so fun and easy to make! Even with skipping the cream of tartar (somehow I never keep it in my kitchen), the meringue set up perfectly and they held their shape so well after piping. Can’t wait to add these to this year’s cookie boxes 🙂
Hi! I wanted to ask, if I buy a carton of egg whites vs separated egg whites, can I use that?
@Sarah, Hi Sarah! I used a carton of egg whites from Sam’s club to make these and they worked great!
Hi Ashley,
Wait that’s huge!! So good to know, thanks for sharing Ashley!!!
@Sarah,
As a former macaron baker I can tell you some cartons of egg whites will whip wonderfully (great value with the whisk in the label as the percent sign is my go to) but some brands won’t. Trial and error!
Ah good to know!! Thank you for sharing Meg!!!!
A lot of mine fell over in the oven or melted I’m not sure. Any idea why or how to stop that from happening? Aside from that they were perfect.
Maybi aske why you add food coloring again to the inside of the pipping bag?!
Hi Ashley,
Totally! I like doing this because it allows you to use less food coloring to color the outside of the meringues, and it gives them a deeper green color. If you don’t do this, they end up a lighter shade of green, which I personally just didn’t like as much. But it’s all a matter of preference! You can add the food coloring into the meringue if you want as it whips up though too! Hope that helps, happy baking!
I think I made mine a bit taller so got less than 40 but they are a little sticky after cool how can I prevent that maybe I added touch coloring to the piping bag can that be ?
Would aquafaba be a good substitute? I have vegan friends.
Appreciate your advice please, thank you.
Hi Natalie,
Aquafaba can totally work here for a vegan version, but it is a bit different!
Aquafaba whips beautifully and can mimic egg whites really well, but it’s less stable overall. That means your trees may not hold quite as sharp of a shape, and they might take a little longer to dry out in the oven. The flavor is also a bit more neutral, so the cookies won’t have that classic egg-white meringue taste, but they’ll still be delicious.
A few tips to help you get the best result:
Reduce the aquafaba on the stove by about 25–30% before whipping. This concentrates the proteins and makes it much stronger.
Whip it longer than you think you need to. Aquafaba takes longer than egg whites to reach stiff peaks.
And in the same way you’d make normal meringue trees, add the sugar very slowly so it incorporates smoothly and bake them low and slow to really dry them out.
Your vegan friends will love them, and the trees will still look adorable. They just may be a touch softer and more fragile.
Hope that helps, happy baking!!
Do you think I could add mini chocolate chips to these? I love meringues with chocolate chips!
Hi Becky,
Mini chocolate chips would drag the meringue down and make it harder for the trees to hold their shape. Meringue is super delicate, and anything mixed in can deflate it or cause the trees to slump while baking.
If you incorporate chocolate in there, I’d suggesting dipping the bottom of the baked and cooled trees in melted chocolate, or drizzling it over the baked meringues. Hope that helps, happy baking!
Can I half the Recipe?
Hi Grace,
Great question, and you totally can! Hope that helps, happy baking!
Hi! Can I use a smaller decorating tip? All of my 1m tips have fled. ?
Hi Megan,
You totally can! Smaller tip would work great too! Hope that helps, happy baking!
Just finished making these and they came out absolutely adorable with the most perfect texture!!! Thank you so much Chels as always! Also making your Swirled Christmas Cookies tomorrow! (cookie boxes in the process!)
Yay!! I am so happy to hear that Carolina 🙂 Thank you for sharing!! Hope your swirled cookies and cookie boxes turned out great!
Do these stay crispy on the outside for the full two weeks after baking or will they become tacky?
Hi Jacqui,
Sadly they will get tacky! These are best made as close as possible to being served, sadly they aren’t the best when made in advance. Hope that helps, happy baking!
Use these smaller. I have maybe twice as much as the receipe should’ve made. How long should I cook them? Ty!
Hi Anne,
Did you use a smaller piping tip than a Wilton 1M? Or did you pipe them slightly smaller than I did? that may explain why you ended up more than the normal yield that the recipe card shares! Bake time will vary a bit based on their size, if yours are smaller than mine, they may bake a bit faster than the recipe card calls for!
I’ve never seen a recipe provide temp in Farenheit first. Burnt in like 2mins ? tried to top one and very tasty though. Will try these again tomorrow.
I hope the second batch turned out great! I’m located in the US, so I do usually list F first, then C second.
Hi, Can I bake These with water based Food Color? I dont have any gel Color.
Hi Katharina,
Great question! You can, but liquid food coloring isn’t ideal for meringue. Even a small amount can thin it out, which may prevent it from whipping properly or cause it to weep or collapse. And it will be difficult to create bright colors! You’ll end up with a pastel green.
For best results, try to use gel or powdered food coloring since they’re much more concentrated and won’t mess with the texture. If liquid is all you have, add it very sparingly once the meringue has reached stiff peaks and stop mixing as soon as it’s incorporated. Hope that helps, happy baking!!
These turned out great and were a big hit over Christmas!
Yay!! So happy to hear that Maddy, thanks for sharing 🙂