{recipe} “Frozen”-Themed Meringue Trees

My son is obsessed with all things Anna, Elsa, and Olaf! He loves the movie Frozen so when we wanted to make meringues, we decided to give them a little bit of Frozen flair by coloring them pale teal with snowy sprinkles.

To get this swirly effect, I made the meringue and then added a small dollop of teal gel food coloring to the mixer. I mixed it just a few times so it wasn’t entirely mixed in. Then I carefully lopped the meringue into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

I used a medium-sized star tip to pipe the trees. (Hint: if your star tip is too big, use a needle-nosed pliers to pull the pointy bits closer towards the center.) If the meringue is stiff enough, it is pretty easy to pipe the trees in one motion. A few sprinkles before baking, and you’ve got some tasty meringue trees that Elsa would love!

P.S. If you like these, you might also like my Swirly Valentine Meringue recipe.

RECIPE: Frozen-themed Meringue Trees 
makes about 25 trees

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• teal food coloring
• sprinkles

METHOD:

• Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
• Put egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk attachment or hand mixer, whip until they start to form soft peaks.
• With the mixer running, slowly pour sugar in to whites. Add vanilla. Continue whipping until mixture reaches stiff peaks (if you don’t know what that looks like, this will help.)
• Turn off mixer. Add a dollop of teal gel food coloring and mix just until a swirl forms.
• Cut a small hole in the corner of a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Place a medium metal star icing tip in the corner. It’s OK if it seems to be loose; once you add the pressure of pushing the meringue through it will right itself and fit snugly into the corner.
• Add meringue to bag. Seal the bag and pipe trees in a swirling motion onto the prepared pans. Add sprinkles.
• Place in 200 degree F oven for about 2 hours. Turn off oven and leave meringues inside, with the door closed, to fully dry and crisp.
• Store in an airtight container. If they start to get soft, you can recrisp them by putting them back onto a baking sheet and putting them in a 200 degree F oven for about 30 minutes.