Andes Candies Meringues

I have so much fun baking each year for Christmas that I thought that I might start sharing some of my family's favorites. Each recipe that I share has obviously originated from somewhere, and I will do my best to inform you of the originals, but some have been found and then tweaked  and I may have lost where the originals have come from.

I am, by no means, an expert in baking or cooking, and therefore please do not scold if I do something you deem as not right or different than what you do, pretty, pretty please.

The first recipe that I wanted to share is one I originally found in a Taste of Home booklet. You can find it here on their website.

I really haven't changed this one too much, as these turn out so wonderfully, but I do change up the steps somewhat.

Here is a picture of them right before they go into the oven:

And here is a picture of them once they are nice and cooled off in their tin.

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 ounces {half package} Andes Creme de Menthe Baking chips

Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, {I use a Kitchen-aide stand mixer}, beat the egg whites until foamy. I then add the cream of tarter, beating the mixture until soft peaks start to form. Adding one tablespoon at a time, gradually beat in the sugar until you have stiff peaks forming. In all of the literature that I have read about making meringues, they say not to stop the mixer at all. {I will admit here that I break this rule.} Once all of the sugar has been added, I stop the mixer and scrap the sides and then add in the vanilla. I do not wait until the end like they say, as I think, personally, that starts to break down the meringue. I also do not add in the green food drops like they suggest as optional. Once the vanilla is added and the sides are scraped, I whip it until the stiff peaks form. Once you reach stiff peak formation, fold in the mint chips.

Drop a tablespoon full of the mixture onto the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Depending on your oven you may need to bump this up to 35 minutes, but you do not want them to start to brown. Once out of the oven, move the meringues on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Yields: 2 1/2 dozen

A lot of my meringues do come out cracked, but I think that this just adds to their charm.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and if you do end up making it, please stop by and let me know how they turn out!