Santa Meringues

• 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, room-temperature 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 1/4 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, 1 Tbsp at a time, into the egg whites over a few minutes while mixing on a medium-low speed. Adding the sugar gradually makes a huge difference in the stability of the meringue. 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. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Scoop about half of the uncolored meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip (like a Wilton 5). If you don't have a piping tip that size, cut an opening at the base of the bag that's 1/2 cm wide. Seal the top of the bag with a clip or rubber band.
• Then, scoop about 2 Tbsp of the uncolored meringue into a small piping bag fitted with a very small round piping tip (like a Wilton 1 or 2). If you don't have a piping tip that size, cut an opening at the base of the bag that's 1/4 cm wide. This is to make Santa's eyebrows. Seal the top of the bag with a clip or rubber band.
• Scoop about 2/3 of the remaining meringue into a separate bowl and color it a light tan color with a squirt of yellow and brown gel food coloring. Fold the food coloring into the meringue gently, and mix just until it's evenly colored. If you overmix the meringue, it will lose some of its structure and be more difficult to pipe. Scoop it into a large piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip (like a Wilton 5). If you don't have a piping tip that size, cut an opening at the base of the bag that's 1/2 cm wide. Seal the top of the bag with a clip or rubber band.
• Scoop 2 Tbsp of merinue into a separate bowl and color it black with a squirt of black gel food coloring. Scoop it into a small piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip (like a Wilton 1 or 2).
• Color the remaining meringue red with a generous squirt of gel food coloring. Scoop it into a piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip (like a Wilton 10).
• Immediately pipe the Santas once the meringue is colored. The meringue loses its structure as it sits, so you want to start piping right away. Start by piping an oval to be Santa's face. Then use the red meringue to pipe his hat, and the white meringue to add a trim around his hat (see picture above for reference).
• Then use the large bag of white meringue to pipe Santa's beard and mustache. Use the skin-toned meringue to pipe his nose, and the black meringue to pipe eyes. Use the small bag of white meringue to pipe eyebrows. You can also add white nonpareils to the eyes if you want them to have a bit more dimension. Smooth out any points of the meringue with a scribe or toothpick. These don't spread as they bake, so they can be piped about 1 inch apart.
• Bake the tray on the middle rack of your oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes, then turn the oven off and let the meringue sit in the oven for another hour. You can also leave them in the oven overnight once you turn the oven off (I usually do this and find I have the best results this way. Letting them gradually cool helps prevent them from cracking. At this point, the meringue 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 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 enjoy! These can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week. Avoid refrigerating them! It will make them soft and sticky.