Who wants to make typical Christmas cookies when you can make these?
Let’s just say it was the perfect way to try out my brand spankin new stand mixer. The best birth-mas gift ever (that means, birthday/Christmas combined gift, in case you were wondering)! (Thanks, mom and dad!)
They’re super simple and a huge hit with kids and grown-ups.
Snow Peaks recipe
4 large egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
5 oz Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips
3+ candy canes
Preheat oven to 225 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or silicone baking sheet). After separating the eggs beat the egg whites on medium low speed till foamy (1-2 minutes). Add cream of tartar and beat at medium till the egg whites are fluffy. Add sugar slowly and increase speed to medium high, then add vanilla. Keep it going for 5-7 minutes, until the egg whites are stiff, glossy, and look like this:
Spoon it into a ziplock bag, squeeze as much air out as possible, and snip the corner off. Pipe it into bite-size peaks and bake for an hour.
Turn the oven off and let them sit there to dry out overnight, or for 6-8 hours. Then melt chocolate in a double boiler (or bowl stacked on top of a pot). Keep in mind, the bottom part needs a couple inches of water in the bottom, but the bowl on top can’t touch the water, or your chocolate will scald and get all clumpy, dry, and gross.While the chocolate is melting, put candy canes in a thick ziplock baggie, and use a rolling pin to crush them. Spread the candy cane crumbs and chunks in a thin layer on a cookie sheet.
Dip the peaks into the chocolate and then set them on the candy-caned cookie sheet.
The chocolate will harden and dry at room temp in an hour or two, or you can pop them into the fridge to speed it up. Store in an air-tight container – they don’t need to be refrigerated. They taste a lot like peppermint bark, but with the extra light crunch of meringue.
I’m thinking next time I’ll add red food coloring – the paste kind that doesn’t turn pink – and use white chocolate to dip them in. Then they’ll be Santa Hats! I was also thinking about substituting orange extract for the vanilla and skipping the candy cane, for chocolate-dipped orange peaks. Keep in mind, a lot of the flavor comes from the chocolate, so don’t skimp on that. Use the good stuff!
