Peppermint Meringue Lollipops are crunchy on the outside with a soft and chewy middle, and a peppermint flavor that is sweet and refreshing. They are the cutest dessert to grace your holiday table and are so fun to make with family and friends!
I love fun and unique desserts. It’s not often that I make the same dessert twice around the holidays, but sometimes I just can’t NOT make my absolute favorites. Every year, you will find me making Cherry Pie Bars, these chewy and soft Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles, and my famous Pumpkin Pie recipe.
Peppermint Meringue Lollipops
If you have never made meringue, you are going to love this recipe! I give you all the tips and tricks for this recipe to turn out perfectly. If you have made meringue, it might have been to top a lemon meringue pie. This meringue will have a different texture because you will be baking it in the oven. Meringue is mostly egg whites that are whipped until they get nice and fluffy. You put them in a piping bag and pipe them into cute lollipops, and bake them in the oven. When you bite into the lollipop, a nice peppermint flavor fills your mouth! The meringue is crunchy on the outside, and then melts into a soft and chewy dessert. It’s so fun to eat!
These peppermint meringue lollipops would go so great with a nice cup of hot chocolate! They would also be fun as a centerpiece on your holiday dessert table or on a Christmas charcuterie board. They really are a fun treat to make with kids because watching the egg whites turn from liquid to foam is so cool. And piping them into different designs would be so fun to do together!
Ingredients
You will need a few simple ingredients to make these peppermint meringue lollipops. They are mostly egg whites, so get ready to use lots of eggs! Maybe you could make some creme brulee to use up all of those egg yolks! You can find exact measurements below in the recipe card.
- Granulated Sugar: Your regular sugar pantry will work great!
- Egg Whites: You will want to separate your egg yolks from whites. You can’t let any part of an egg yolk into your mixture or your meringue won’t turn out!
- Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice is always best, but bottled will work.
- Salt: A little salt will bring out all of the sweet flavors in this dessert.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds a little flavor and also helps to bring out the sweet flavors in the meringue.
- Peppermint Extract: This is where the peppermint flavor will come from!
- Red Gel Food Coloring: A little red food coloring is how you will get the stripes of red to make the candy cane design.
- Paper Straws: This is how you will hold your lollipops of course!
Peppermint Meringue Lollipop Recipe
Don’t be intimidated by meringue, you can totally make this! You are going to love the fun texture and delicious peppermint flavor when you bite into these lovely peppermint meringue lollipops. It is so fun to pipe them and watch the meringue come out a red and white mix. You don’t have to be good at piping to make cute little designs that everyone will love!
Make Meringue
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 200℉ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Simmer: Add 1 inch of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a slight simmer.
- Whisk: In a heatproof bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and sugar. Whisk together until combined and place over the simmering water, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water.
- Whip: Whisk the egg whites and sugar constantly until the mixture reaches 140℉. Remove from the heat and fit on the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whip until soft peaks form.
- Whip to Stiff Peaks: Add the lemon juice, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Whip until stiff peaks form. The meringue will begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl and when the whisk is removed, the peak will stand straight up. This can take a good 10-15 minutes of whipping at high speed.
Pipe Peppermint Meringue Lollipops
- Prep Piping Bag: Prep your piping bags by either snipping the end for round piping or fitting with a large star tip. Use a toothpick to make 3 lines of red food gel coloring going up the inside of the piping bag, this will give the meringue the distinct red stripes of peppermint candies as you pipe it out.
- Fill: Carefully spoon meringue into the piping bag and twist closed at the top, being careful to not overfill the bag (fill ½-⅔ of the way full)
- Pipe: Pipe 4 small dots of meringue under the four corners of the parchment paper and press down. This will prevent the parchment from blowing up and sticking to your meringue pops as they bake.
- Add Straw: Use additional dots of meringue to adhere the paper straws to the parchment, leaving plenty of space between them to allow you to pipe your peppermint designs.
- Design: Pipe the designs of your choice over the tops of the straws, letting them be ½-¾ inch thick.
- Bake: Bake for 1-½ to 2 hours, until the outsides of the lollipops are crisp to the touch.. Turn off the oven and let the pan cool in the oven as it cools. Once the pan is completely cooled to the touch, remove from the oven.
- Store: Gently remove the lollipops from the pan, which is best done by handling the meringue itself instead of lifting from the straw end. Store in an airtight container or serve immediately. Do not refrigerate or leave uncovered otherwise you risk the meringue becoming tacky and weepy.
Tips for Making Meringue Lollipops
If you have ever watched a baking show, you know that meringue can be a little tricky. But it’s not impossible! And it isn’t hard either, you just have to pay attention to the details. So here are some tips to help make your peppermint meringue lollipops a huge success!
- Don’t Boil Water: Keep the water in the pan at just below simmering. If you let the water boil, you risk cooking the egg whites and ending up with scrambled eggs instead of the beginnings of meringue.
- Use A Thermometer: When cooking the sugar and egg whites, use a thermometer to ensure the mixture reaches 140℉. The sugar will be completely dissolved at that point and the meringue will be very stable for piping and baking.
- Take It Easy On The Peppermint: Peppermint is a very assertive flavoring, so it’s easy to add too much and the flavor becomes overpowering. If you like it a little less intense in peppermint flavor, start by adding ½ teaspoon instead of the full 1 teaspoon. Taste the meringue and the add a little more as needed. Having the marshmallow flavor of the meringue come through is a nice balance to the strong mint flavor.
- Experiment With Designs: Planning what shapes to pipe for your lollipops is so fun! You can try tinting some of the meringue green and sprinkling Christmas sprinkles on top to make a Christmas tree, or keep with traditional peppermint shapes.
Storing Leftovers
- On the Counter: Store your peppermint meringue lollipops in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Do not leave uncovered or refrigerate as the meringue will begin to weep and become very sticky and possibly melt.
Other Peppermint Recipes to Try
Desserts
Peppermint Cheesecake
Desserts
Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Desserts
Peppermint Meltaways
Desserts
Homemade Thin Mints
Peppermint Meringue Lollipops
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 large egg whites room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Red gel food coloring
- Paper straws
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 200℉ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
-
Add 1 inch of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a slight simmer.
-
In a heatproof bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and sugar. Whisk together until combined and place over the simmering water, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water.
-
Whisk the egg whites and sugar constantly until the mixture reaches 140℉. Remove from the heat and fit on the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whip until soft peaks form.
-
Add the lemon juice, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Whip until stiff peaks form. The meringue will begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl and when the whisk is removed, the peak will stand straight up. This can take a good 10-15 minutes of whipping at high speed.
-
Prep your piping bags by either snipping the end for round piping or fitting with a large star tip. Use a toothpick to make 3 lines of red food gel coloring going up the inside of the piping bag, this will give the meringue the distinct red stripes of peppermint candies as you pipe it out.
-
Carefully spoon meringue into the piping bag and twist closed at the top, being careful to not overfill the bag (fill ½-⅔ of the way full)
-
Pipe 4 small dots of meringue under the four corners of the parchment paper and press down. This will prevent the parchment from blowing up and sticking to your meringue pops as they bake.
-
Use additional dots of meringue to adhere the paper straws to the parchment, leaving plenty of space between them to allow you to pipe your peppermint designs.
-
Pipe the designs of your choice over the tops of the straws, letting them be ½-¾ inch thick.
-
Bake for 1-½ to 2 hours, until the outsides of the lollipops are crisp to the touch.. Turn off the oven and let the pan cool in the oven as it cools. Once the pan is completely cooled to the touch, remove from the oven.
-
Gently remove the lollipops from the pan, which is best done by handling the meringue itself instead of lifting from the straw end. Store in an airtight container or serve immediately. Do not refrigerate or leave uncovered otherwise you risk the meringue becoming tacky and weepy.
Nutrition
from The Recipe Critic https://ift.tt/YUSi6Fo
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